Flowers Will Bloom (rewritten)
by CrypticMoonFang
Summary: Sam is raped; now more than ever she needs the comfort and support of her friends. Plus, there's a little surprise inside for the readers. DannyxSam Flames not accepted!
1. Chapter 1

~Chapter 1~

The first chilling wind of Autumn sent shivers wracking throughout Sam's body. She ignored her parents' advice to wear a jacket; now she was paying the price. The breeze was crisp and cool, and quite refreshing. Even the scent of the air seemed to change. Falling leaves left traces of bright reds and yellows all around the trees from which they fell. Few of them were brown; it was only the beginning of the season, after all.

As she rounded a corner, she felt a strange sensation, as if someone was watching her. Figuring it was simply Danny trying to pull a prank on her, she shouted, "Danny, I know you're there!"

Only a few rustling leaves replied to her. If it wasn't Danny, maybe it was Tucker... "Tucker! Is that you?"

This time, not even the leaves would speak back. Nothing moved. It as as if the entire world was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen that, for once, wasn't its doing. The wind wouldn't blow, the leaves wouldn't budge, even the brick buildings seemed more lifeless than ever.

Not normally one to be scared by silence or stillness, the teen shrugged it off as nothing and continued walking down the sidewalk. A dead leaf was gently whisked up by a whistling gale. This caught her attention somewhat, but she didn't even glance in that direction. Instead, she put her hands behind her head and yawned, beat from a long day of school.

A twig snapping, however, ushered her to stop and look. There was nothing there. Only two insects crawling leisurely across the cream-colored pavement, probably to escape the frigid air.

She cast a cynical glance, her imagination starting to wander about, trying to distinguish what had caused the twig to break. Two insects surely couldn't have done it; it would've taken something a lot heavier. Eventually, she decided it was nothing and assumed its own weight had been too much for it to support, being as trees and their components grew dry and weak during the cold seasons.

She turned back around and resumed walking home.

But as soon as she was five feet away from the insects, a dark shadow loomed over her. It wasn't the shadow of tree, it was a person. Before she had a chance to turn around and see who it was, a strong hand slapped itself over her mouth, preventing a scream from escaping.

Instinctively, her hands reached up to try to pry the larger hand off. Fear and adrenaline started to consume her, and she kicked and struggled. An arm, one that didn't belong to the appendage covering her face, slipped itself around her stomach and she became physically restricted as a result.

A man's deep voice soon followed the actions, "Quit squirming, and I might let you live."

Ignoring the threat, she licked the man's palm and jerked her head sideways, her lips now slippery enough to escape. "DANNY!" she screamed.

Before the man's hand could manage to find its way over her mouth again, she bit down as hard as she could on his fingers, causing him to yell out in pain. His arm, by a lucky accident, let go of her to hold his near-bleeding fingers.

Sam wasted no time and tried to run, only to be tackled by the large man. The both of them fell down, but it was the man who scrambled to his feet first. He squeezed her shoulders so hard it hurt. The expression on his face told her he was infuriated.

"DANNY! DANNY! HELP!" she screamed, hoping he'd hear her.

"You're pretty stupid to call out for your friend. Look around you; no one's here. You're all alone," he said gruffly.

"DANNY!" she continued to scream. "HELP, DANNY!"

In an effort to stop her shrill cries, he swiftly backed her up against the side of a building. The bricks used to build it were scraping against her skin, making any attempt of getting away painful and difficult. It felt like thick sandpaper rubbing her back, reaching through her clothes and cutting into flesh.

However, she persisted and could only hope he was on his way. "DANNY!"

"Shut up!" he commanded. To prove he meant business, he used most of his weight and probably half of his strength the pull the goth down, scraping her back against the bricks.

Pinning her down, though not without difficulty due to her struggling, he climbed on top of her. Now she couldn't escape no matter how hard she tried. Unfortunately, the girl's pain wasn't over with.

Her screams could be heard throughout the entire vicinity. Sadly, no one was around to hear them. Her shrieks of pain went on for at least twenty whole minutes, and in that time only two people could hear the sound: Sam and the man who had taken her captive. Not many people usually took the route she'd chosen to take, so it was highly unlikely anyone would hear anything.

It ended when the teenager spied a mistake, a weakness, in his form. He was on top of her, and he was surprisingly close to her face. Again, her teeth might save her. But she needed to time this right for it to work.

She waited an excruciating thirty more seconds, and then struck out. Her teeth drove into the man's neck, right where his voicebox was, and stayed there.

The man howled in agony and rushed to get off of his attacker. It was only when he stood up that the girl's enamel came out of his neck, leaving small but extremely painful wounds where they'd been.

Sam didn't hesitate to scramble to her feet, even though her insides felt like twenty-five butcher knives were taking turns stabbing her lower abdomen. Right now, all that mattered to her was making it out alive.

She proceeded to run at top speed. Her house should be just around the corner, so...

In just a minute, she stood in front of her mansion fumbling with the house keys. It was a good thing her parents were out of town for a few days; if they learned what just happened to her...

A click brought her out of her thoughts. The door opened and she burst inside, slamming the door shut again and locking it. The goth pressed her back against the door, as if it would suddenly open and he would walk into her house.

She could imagine it now—the man walking into the one place she was supposed to be safe, tracing her movements as she ran, and following her wherever she went until finally…he had her cornered.

She shrunk to the floor and began weeping. Her mind replayed all the events that had just occurred. It had happened so fast, but it was so painful. Like a blurry nightmare, she'd been taken advantage of. Never would she have thought this would happen to her, but it did. And it was shocking that an offender lurked so close to her, and all the while she hadn't realized...

These things happened every day on the news, so one became desensitized to them. But what people failed to understand was that these things could happen to them in a flash. This was the realization that had just hit her.

**A/N**

**Hey, everyone. Just wanna let you know that the original Flowers Will Bloom had too many errors in it. I'm completely rewriting the story. The base lines will stay the same, as will the dialogue (I might add, take out, or change some of it). I'm happy to announce that there will now be more detail, better grammar, no more misspelled words, and new scenes! **

**Relax, those of you who haven't read the original version. I'm letting everyone have a fresh start with the new version. This improved, rewritten version will be nearly identical to the original. And the new scenes are what excite me the most. ;) It means new chapters with that which is not shown in the original version.**

**However, out of respect for the story that gained so many readers, and the one that managed to get into four communities, I'll be keeping the original version up, even after I finish this newer one. **

**This technically will not be a duplicate story, mainly because of the new scenes. I may also add in a few new filler chapters because during a major scene in the original version, I may have rushed it...**

**Review quota? I guess it'll be five (5). Why is there a quota? Well, because I'm dying to see if this version is better. If it's not and the original version is more pleasing to the eye, I'll take this down.**

**There WILL be review replies. Again, this story will be nearly identical. Quotas and replies are practically mandatory.**

**Those of you who have read the original, try not to give anything away. :) I'll be making a few changes...**


	2. Chapter 2

~Chapter 2~

"Hey, have you seen Sam lately?" Danny asked his friend, who was walking right beside him out of the school's kitchen area.

"No, I heard she got sick, but nothing's actually been proven yet," he answered nonchalantly.

"Something's wrong. Sam hasn't been to school in three weeks, a sickness can't last _that_ long. Can it?" he said.

"Technically, it's possible," Tucker said. He grabbed his fork even before they chose a table and began to taste-test the piping-hot, just-came-out-of-the-stove cheeseburger.

Danny and Tucker sat down at their usual table and continued on the subject of their friend's absence, only breaking the conversation to take a bite of food or to drink. Danny had been right about one thing—Sam had been gone for some time now. A sickness normally wouldn't last three whole weeks. Tucker would have a good point, if it had been said at least two weeks ago. The girl had always been strong against illnesses. She had never had chicken pox, asthma, pink eye, the flu, or even strep throat. Those were all very common illnesses and she never had any of it. Aside from the common cold, she never really got sick.

The raven-haired teen swallowed and added, "Plus, she almost never gets sick."

"But everyone has to get sick sometime," Tucker combated. He popped his last apple slice into his mouth and noisily crunched on it.

Alright, so he had a point. The twosome had only seen her sick about…what, seven times? The last time she'd gotten sick was at a school football game. Danny could never forget the day when he got trampled by the football team while dressed in a raven mascot suit. It was so bad the beak came off…as well one of his teeth.

"Yeah, but to last three weeks? That's a little much... You think it's something serious?" he worried.

"Probably not, but it's still a possibility," his friend answered. He then pointed at Danny's food, which had hardly been touched. "You gonna eat that?"

Tucker obviously wasn't too concerned about this. Maybe he was on the inside but he certainly wasn't showing it on the outside. Danny wished he could have the same attitude, or better yet, the ability to hide his worries. He didn't like the feeling he got in his stomach when he thought something bad could've happened to Sam.

Danny pushed his plate over to the happy teen awaiting it. "I'm gonna go check on Sam real quick; cover for me while I'm gone." With these parting words, and leaving no time for a reply on Tucker's part, he ducked under the table, underwent the transformation that would allow him to become a seemingly full ghost, and turned invisible. All the while he was mindful of the metal bars supporting the chairs on which the students sat.

He glided right through any school walls obstructing his path, hoping dearly that Sam didn't have any serious illness. It didn't take him long to get to his destination thanks to his flying ability and his ability to go straight through objects in a ghastly manner.

He landed on his friend's front doorstep and resumed his human form. He tenaciously knocked on her door, knowing full well that Sam's father hated him. But, determined to know what was wrong with her, he didn't care at the moment.

Luckily, her father wasn't home and her mother answered the door instead. "Oh, hello there! I hope you aren't expecting to see Samantha..." the kind voice sang.

"Actually, I am. Why? Is she sick?" he asked.

Mrs. Manson put a hand up to her head and a baffled expression crossed her face. "I honestly just can't say. She refuses to see a doctor and spends all her time writing dark poetry. She won't go to school, and I'm not even going to try to make her anymore. Something's wrong, I know, but as her mother, she won't talk to me. If I could just ask a favor of you... Would you try to talk to Samantha for me? Find out what's on her mind. Please, I'm counting on you."

"Sure, Mrs. Manson. Thank you," he said as he walked upstairs to his friend's room.

"No, no! I should be thanking you!" the reply echoed through the halls.

The words were lost to the worried teenager; he'd just opened his friend's door to find a most unexpected scene. The curtains were closed tighter than ever, allowing not a single ray of light to pierce the area. The only source of light, in fact, was a little lamp. It scarcely illuminated her room, but Sam didn't seem to notice. The temperature of the room was pretty cold, but Sam didn't seem to care. In fact, she just sat on her bed, with papers scattered all around her. A grunt and a mumble was heard every now and then as he watched her to see if she would acknowledge his presence. But after ten seconds passed, and with her not turning around to face him, it didn't look like she was aware he was standing in her house, let alone her room.

Eventually, the teen picked up a paper he'd found near him and began reading it aloud, so as to catch her attention. The paper was partially scribbles, and the words were hard to make out in the dim light, but he was able to read it successfully. As he read, he realized what her mother had been talking about when she said 'dark' poetry. The note seemed like something only Edgar Allen Poe would write. It said:

I am not the dove that sits upon your windowsill,  
Beckoning the dawn,  
I am the Raven that cries out in the night,  
Awakening the evils.  
I am not the robin that nests among the branches,  
Singing with the sunshine,  
I am the Raven who spreads her cloak of mystery,  
While she basks in the glow of the moon.  
I am not the sparrow that soars up in the sky,  
Reaching for the clouds,  
I am the Raven, forever concealed in the darkness,  
Broken only by the brightness of the stars.  
I am not the blue jay, flying gracefully,  
With the late afternoon breeze,  
I am the Raven, lurking in the dark graveyard,  
And haunting your nightmares.  
I am not the gull, gliding upon the wind,  
And spray of the sea,  
I am the Raven, uttering a shriek that chills the bones,  
In the early hours of morning.  
Oh yes, I am the creature that you associate with all evils.  
I am the Raven.  
And I am the bringer of death.

Sam turned her head just enough for her to see him out of the corner of her eyes as he read the poem out loud. Almost as soon as she recognized who it was, her eyes narrowed and a tiny growl formed in the back of her throat.

After he was done reading it, he could do nothing but say, "Wow. That's...crazy poetry."

Sam didn't reply, but turned her head back to her front. The only other noise was the pair's breath for what seemed like the longest time.

"So... What have you been up to, Sam?" he asked, hoping to bring up a conversation. Unfortunately, this question didn't rake in a response. At a loss of words, he began walking towards her, thinking eye contact might help.

The boy didn't take five steps before Sam finally talked to him. "Don't...come any closer," she hissed. Every word dripped with acid, and Danny obeyed.

A few seconds later, the sound of scribbling could be heard as Sam's pencil glided over her paper. He wondered what she was writing about, and brought himself to ask her about it.

She didn't reply.

He started walking towards her again, but was abruptly stopped by her angry voice, "I said don't come near me!"

"Y-You sound mad. Was it something I did?" he questioned. It was an honest question, and he couldn't help but feel dread even though he was becoming quite frustrated with her actions.

Her response wasn't oral, but he literally felt the fury and pain burning off her body, like a radiating heat of emotions. The paper she'd been writing on, she now crumbled up and threw at him.

He didn't see it coming and therefore failed to catch it. It bounced off his chest and fell onto the floor, where it rolled around pathetically for a bit before stilling itself. "Am I missing something here? I mean, at least I'm trying to talk to you!" he yelled. "You're just telling me to go away and now you throw _this_ at me?" He picked up the paper wad and held it out for her to see, even though her back was still facing him.

Her figure slumped over a little bit, but her mouth didn't budge.

"Oh, here we go again! Do I have to walk to get you to speak? 'Cause I'll do it!" he said, stomping one foot forward to show her he meant what he said.

Her breathing became more labored, as though she was breathing through clenched teeth.

"Alright, fine!" he said, throwing his arms up in the air. He began walking again, only to discover that she wasn't stopping him this time, or telling him to go away. Instead, it sounded like she was trying to speak, but was too choked up. Her mouth was definitely moving, but the words didn't seem to be coming out right.

"Sam?"

Only the strangled sounds answered him. Was she crying? Was Samantha Manson really _crying_?

"Sam, what's the matter?" he said, stopping inches from her bedside.

Her head was dropped. She wasn't permitting him to see her face for some reason. But tears were definitely falling. This wasn't like her at all. She was the type who wouldn't cry if her arm was being ripped off her body. Something terrible must've happened to cause this.

Everything else had struck him as strange, but this struck him as illogical. Maybe he was dreaming, but even if he was, he wanted to help this dream-character. "What's wrong, Sam? You can tell me; I won't tell anyone."

She weakly shook her head. He didn't know if she did that from disappointment or some other emotion, or if she did it because she didn't want to tell him.

He reached out a hand to place it on her shoulder, but she only slapped it away. He could feel a glare aimed at him.

"What's upsetting you so much?" he softly asked.

"Y-You weren't...there," she managed.

"I wasn't there...?" he repeated. "What do you mean? Did something happen?"

"You weren't there," she said, more clearly this time.

"What do you mean I wasn't there? Where was there?" he asked, confusion showing profusely.

Anger seemed to force her words now. "You weren't there for me!"

"Wha...? I-I wasn't there? For you? We go to school every day and we always hang out afterwards. How am I not there?" he stuttered.

Sam jumped off her bed and poked him in the chest. "You. Weren't. There. For. Me."

He sighed, figuring maybe she was tired and needed rest. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for y-"

"I called out for you," she whispered.

"Huh?"

"I called out, and you wouldn't answer. You didn't come!" she repeatedly beat her tiny fists on Danny's chest as she continued, "You didn't care! I kept screaming for you! Over and over! And you still wouldn't come! I believed in you! I trusted you! I kept calling for you! Over and over and over! You never came! You wouldn't listen to me! So I kept calling and waiting! And you still didn't come for me!"

She dropped to the carpet and sobbed. Naturally, Danny knelt down to her level to console her, but she only tried to push him away, not wanting to accept the hug he offered. "You wouldn't... You wouldn't... Even though I called for you... Even though I needed you... You wouldn't come for me..."

She soon found herself leaning into his embrace. "I needed you..." she whispered, her voice becoming hoarse and rough from the earlier screaming.

Danny started rocking the upper portion of his body side to side and released a string of hushes. He wasn't quite sure what his friend was so upset about, but he knew that he had something to do with it—it sounded like he was actually the cause of it. He knew he had to make it right somehow, but for now all he could do was calm her down.

Soon all he heard was sniffling and a few whimpers. Now that she'd calmed down, hopefully enough to reason with, he asked her, "How was I not there for you?"

"I called. I needed you," she rasped, "You wouldn't come. Don't you care about me?"

"Of course I do, Sam. That's why I'm here," he said, "Now, I want you to tell me what happened, from beginning to end. Okay?"

She nodded, a bit fatigued from her outburst, and summarized the events. "I was walking down the sidewalk when I felt like I was being watched. I thought it might've been you or Tucker, but when I turned to look I didn't see anyone. I kept walking a little further, then I heard a twig snap. I turned to look again, but I still didn't see anyone. So I kept walking and then a big shadow blocked out the sun. I was about to turn around, but a large hand clamped itself over my mouth and an arm held my belly. I couldn't move."

Danny became very concerned as the story continued. It couldn't have been a kidnapping, could it? What happened to her? Who was this person she was talking about? Why did they go after her? And why did they try to restrict her movements?

Sam continued, oblivious to her friend's inner alarms going off. "The person was a man with a deep voice. He said to stop squirming, but I didn't. I licked his palm and jerked my head to the side. Then I called for you. He tried to put his hand on my mouth again, but I bit his fingers before he could do that. He let go of me and I tried to run from him. But he knocked me over and grabbed my shoulders. I kept calling for you. I was praying you'd come for me. But you still didn't. He shoved me against the wall and the bricks started scraping my back. I wouldn't stop screaming your name, and he got annoyed. Then he pinned me down on the ground and I couldn't get him off. And then..."

The black-haired teen grew increasingly worried, hoping she wasn't going to say what he thought she was about to say. Her tears started wetting his shirt again as she prepared to go on.

"There wasn't anyone around to hear me, so no one came. But I called out your name a few more times and asked you to help. He only got angry and...soon I could feel him inside me. It hurt so bad I couldn't keep calling for you. All I could do was scream. And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get away. The pain just kept coming and coming... It was unbearable, but there was nothing I could do to stop him. It went on like that for a long time, and with every passing second I thought I was going to break or split in two. Then I saw a way out. I bit his neck as hard as I could and slipped out from under him. Then I ran the rest of the way home. When I got inside I made sure I locked the door back. I've been in my room ever since."

The images the explanation brought to his mind were beyond horrific. They were torturous and twisted. Mixed feelings came over him as the realization of what happened to her hit him. And the fact that she'd called out for him who-knows-how-many times made him feel guilty for not coming to aid her. But what happened would explain the poetry, why she wouldn't show up at school, probably why she refused to go to the doctor's office, why she'd sealed herself in her room, and why she was so angry at him. He couldn't blame her—he was angry at himself for not hearing her cries for help. Who knows? She probably cried out for mercy as well. And he wasn't there! Here he was supposed to be this big hero, with all these ghost powers, and he didn't even rescue his best friend.

Upon not hearing or seeing any response from Danny, the goth assumed the worst. "You're disgusted with me, aren't you?"

Immediately, the teen snapped out of his thoughts and answered, "Not with you, but with the guy who did this to you. Why did you think I'd be disgusted with you?"

"You don't think of me as a slut?" she asked.

"Of course not, Sam! What happened to you... Well, you couldn't control it. It wasn't your fault."

"Then why do I feel like it was?" she muttered.

"You're blaming yourself for something you didn't do," he pointed out.

She sighed, pondering whether or not he was right. After all, wasn't it _her_ who had chosen to take that route home? If only she'd gone a different way, maybe this incident could've been avoided. Then she could have returned to life as normal. "Don't tell anyone else. Not even my parents."

"Why?"

"I just... I don't want this thing to blow up into a huge deal."

"But, Sam, it _is_ a huge deal. You were-" he paused when he saw her grimace from what he was about to say. Instantly, he corrected himself, "You were hurt."

"Yeah, but it's not anyone else's problem. I wanna handle this on my own."

"It's good you want to be independent, but there are times when you need other people."

"Now isn't one of them. When I get into a real life-or-death situation, then I'll call 911," she retorted.

"And what if you hadn't gotten away, Sam? What might have happened if you hadn't come home? If you hadn't bitten his neck?" Danny asked.

She stalled, not knowing how to answer such a truthful question. "I...don't know. But it's not necessary to get my parents involved."

"Fine, I won't tell anyone," he gave, "But there is something else I want to talk to you about."

"What?" she questioned.

"I know this...may be an uncomfortable subject for any girl to talk about, but I want you to be honest with me. Were you...uh…on your period?" he asked awkwardly.

"No, why?"

"Because, if you were, then it would've acted as a sort of shield against..." his voice trailed off, wondering whether or not to continue.

"Against what?"

"Um, have you felt sick lately?"

"A little, but I think it was just some bad food. Where are you going with this anyway?"

"And have you gotten angry and then happy all of a sudden?"

"I dunno. Again, where are you going with all this?" she repeated, her confusion evident in her tone.

"I think you should go to the doctor's."

"No, I don't want some doctor to find out about this; and I definitely don't want my parents knowing."

He sighed, wondering when she was going to put two and two together. "No, Sam, that's not- I mean, it's a very real possibility that you could be..." he trailed off again, hoping she'd finish for him. No one wanted to be the bearer of bad news, after all.

"I could be wha-" Her eyes widened as she finally guessed it. "Me? No, no, that's...impossible!"

"Maybe you should get a test," Danny suggested, hoping they were talking about the same thing.

"I don't need a test; there's no _way_ I could be pregnant!" she denied. However, in her mind a totally different answer was tormenting her. What if it wasn't bad food that made her sick? What if she really had conceived?

His eyes dropped, knowing this was hard for her. "You won't know for sure until you take one."

"Y-You're dead serious," she gasped. She scrambled to her feet and pulled Danny up with her. She took one of his hands and placed it across her stomach. "See? You'd feel something down there! That is, if something _was_ there. Right?" She looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"Actually, I don't think you feel anything until a few months," he stated.

"But that happened three weeks ago..." she breathed.

"I'm not saying you are, I'm just saying you might be," he clarified.

She sat down on her bed. "Danny, could you run by the store and get some after school? If my parents ever found me in a place like that...even I can't say what would happen to you."

"To me?"

"Yeah, my dad really hates you. He's going to assume we're...you know." A bright red color appeared on her face.

"Good point. I'll get some, but I'm gonna have to ditch Tucker first. Might take some time."

"I can wait."

Danny put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Don't be nervous, Sam. No matter what happens, everyone's still going to be there for you."

"Easy for you to say..." she mumbled.

**A/N**

**Thus, the second chapter is done! Now, real quick, does this chapter look any different than chapter two of the original version? If you have any doubts, I urge you to pull up (in another tab) chapter two of the original version and compare them side by side. Most of the changes in this chapter are minor, but I've added some things. Note that like I said before, all the dialogue here has been kept and has not been changed.**

**Sorry for the time it took to update. I myself have to compare chapters and proofread them at least three times to make sure there are no mistakes. I also make sure that if I change something, it'll be something I won't regret changing, something I truly want changed. I also add or take out things, as well as correct my spelling and grammar. I need to pinpoint where I need to do this though. Some of my bad grammar is there purposefully to either emphasize the scene or induce an emotional effect. Sometimes it's there for other reasons, but those are the main two. Anything I put there on purpose won't be changed. I also need to make sure these changes fit into the chronological sequencing of the original version. For instance, I might accidentally give an early foreshadowing of what could happen five chapters later on accident. I don't want that to happen. So I'm constantly checking up on that.**

**I didn't know rewriting a story could be this hard. :/ I figured that since the whole story (aside from those new scenes I promised you all) was already written out, I wouldn't have much trouble writing it again. Not true, apparently. Looks like this story can be updated regularly, but it'll still take some time.**

**I'll try to update each week, hopefully before. Again, sorry for the wait. :( I seriously want to perfect all those mistakes I made in the original Flowers Will Bloom. I don't know why anyone liked that story to begin with, especially considering it's a disgrace to literature, but they did and I feel like making it a story worth appreciating, which is why I'm rewriting it.**

**Don't worry, these A/Ns will get shorter. ;)**

**Can I just say...WOW! 14 reviews, guys? :D On one chapter? That's amazing, it really is! Thanks, everyone!**

**Review quota (not pushing my luck yet) is twenty-one (21) reviews. If I got 14 in the first chapter, I'm thinking maybe it wouldn't be too much to get seven more for this one.**

**Review replies!**

**_mrgirmjaw_- This one is basically just the original except with bonus features. :) And the ending will be changed, but it won't affect the sequel. None of this will affect the sequel actually, it'll still fit perfectly. So there's no real need to read the original.**

**_DannyPhantomluver2_- More is here! Oh, and just because the original is still up, it doesn't mean I won't finish this version. I promise, and if you ask anyone who has read the original, I keep my promises. :) I promise to finish this story. No need to ask for more, because it's on its way.**

**_Harmony's Entropy_- Har har! :D I have a TON up my sleeve, you guy will love it! And even if you don't...at least we'll get to see you-know-who again. The person who made everyone crack up! XD lol Even me as I was writing it out. XP But then, those chapters are so messed up to begin with, I don't think I really NEED to change anything.**

**_Lady Rae of Ravenclaw_- Indeed you do, m'lady. :) I must say this is very exciting to me! The new scenes I'm gonna put in? You'll love 'em! (hopefully)**

**_sammansonrepilica_- As always? Aw, thank you. :D**

**_SamXDanny_- Well, I can tell you right now, tons of people loved the original so an improved version should be to their liking. The original was bugging me for a very long time now and I kept berating myself over not putting in certain ideas. I shouldn't have left them out but now I'm going to put them in. :) I really hope you enjoy the story as it flows along. I'm glad you liked it enough to keep following it, so thank you for the support.**

**_AJ_- By 'errors', I meant that some of it was too rushed, some of it was too stale, other times too domestic, others too boring. There needs to be a balance and this time I'll try to correct that. And yes, the sequel will still be updated and continued. I promised to finish that, remember? I hold to my promises. lol And reading the original version won't help you much with the new one. :3 You'll see exactly why in later chapters.**

**_Alisi Thorndyke_- I'm glad you like it. ^.^ Yeah, for some reason I thought of that one day and I just HAD to write it down, and so an awareness story came into play. Flowers Will Bloom was born.**

**_PlasticPencils_- Hey! Down, girl, DOWN! ...That's creepy. That's really creepy. I wrote like one sentence and you noticed that? You're creepy. o.o**

**_HandmadeVeggies_- Yeah, you don't need to read the original to understand what's going on. Plus, it won't help since I'm changing, taking out, and adding to this newer version.**

**_Hazel Blue Mystery_- You're absolutely right. :) I'm not trying to throw away the old story and replace it with this one, but I do think it's better to stay with the newer version, at least until it's done.**

**_Animalistic Ballistic_- Wow, someone's excited! lol!**

**_Inuyuke_- I certainly am. :D I've actually already made some changes on the first chapter. On this one, too. They're small and seemingly insignificant, but I wanted better detail, something that could give you the feel of the story. The original FWB didn't do that. :/ Well, no..._I_ didn't do that. If people are gonna like a story that much, then I want to give them something worth liking. I'm revising the whole thing. I hope you enjoy my little tweaks and of course, new chapters (that will not affect the sequel)!**

**THE REST OF THIS STORY WILL, just as it was in the original (another thing that won't change), BE 3,000+ WORDS PER CHAPTER. :D Nice long chapters and hopefully enjoyment to bring with them.**


	3. Chapter 3

~Chapter 3~

Sam paced her room several times, her bladder about to bust. She tried everything to distract her from the pain her was feeling. "Ugh...Where is he?" she moaned. Where could he possibly be at 11:04 at night? She watched the last number of the clock change. Now it stared at her, its glowing red eyes reading the altered time of 11:05. Night had fallen and he still wasn't back with the pregnancy tests. Could he have forgotten? True, he was a boy, but when your best friend might be expecting? C'mon!

"Sam, over here," a familiar male voice whispered, almost scaring the person to whom he talked.

The goth turned and saw Danny just resuming his human form. In his hands were two handfuls of pregnancy tests, each brand name different. They ranged from white to blue to purple in color, and the tiny rectangular boxes had never before looked so intimidating to the potentially pregnant teenager. They were a symbol of the shame she wore, and they could possibly damage her life forever.

"Where were you?!" she hissed. "School was over hours ago!"

"Sorry to make you wait; I got detention for skipping class. Tucker didn't do a good enough job of lying to Mr. Lancer. So naturally my parents had to come up and debate with him, and that took forever. Then I had to serve detention time and when I got home we had a family discussion about how to avoid trouble at school. Then Jazz started saying a bunch of psychological stuff and then the discussion went back to me and to top that, I wasn't allowed to go anywhere until I finished my homework." By the time he got done explaining himself, he was breathless.

"Yeah, nice story. We have more pressing matters, though," she gushed. "Quick, give me the tests!"

He saw her wince in pain as she snatched them from his hand. He just assumed he waited too long and now she about to pop. Luckily for him, he assumed correctly. The first thing she did after obtaining the little boxes was dash to the bathroom.

The door was carefully shut, so as not to wake her sleeping parents. But even after she was in the bathroom, the knob jiggled for a mere half-second due to her forgetfulness to let go of it. Soon the sounds of cardboard tearing were heard throughout the room. Danny assumed this was the first box being brutally 'opened'.

An almost complete silence filled the atmosphere with tension. What would the outcome be? Would the results be positive? Negative? Though he desperately hoped it was negative, there was a very real possibility that his friend's life could change from here on out. And if it was positive, then she would be devastated. But the chances were slim since it was just one encounter, so why was he worried so much? It was probably because fate had already dealt her a cruel hand; he knew she didn't need any more stress. And a baby would be just too much, even for Sam.

The goth came out of the restroom, looking more relieved than he'd ever seen her.

"It was negative?" he asked, his eyes gleaming with hope.

"Yeah, the results say I'm not pregnant," she beamed.

"That's great, Sam!" he said excitedly but softly, still mindful of her snoring parents. And especially mindful of her snoring father. "I was kind of getting worried."

"I told you there was no way I was pregnant," she smugly replied.

Danny smiled—Sam was already starting to act like her old self. Apparently, discovering she wasn't going to be a mother had lifted her spirits. And he was happy to know he helped take part in it. Suggesting the tests may have been the best idea he'd ever had.

* * *

"Wow," Tucker mused when he saw his friend's exhausted state. "You really need to try out the concept of 'coffee'."

"Eh, there were a lot of factors involved. But, c'mon; I'm not that bad," the halfa said.

"Yeah, well...we'll see how you do in class today. Think you can stay up for another six _hours_?" Tucker teased.

Danny sighed. "No..."

"Anyway, did you talk to Sam yesterday?" he asked.

"Yeah, he did. Now I'm back in action," a feminine voice rang.

Both the boys looked to their left to find none other than Samantha Manson. Her hair was brushed, which had not been the case last night, and her mascara trails had been wiped off her face to be replaced by a new layer of mascara and fresh thick eyeliner around her eyes. She not only managed to clean herself up, but she even retained her Gothic look.

She casually walked up to the hybrid. "You know, my mom wants to thank you for something. You should probably come over and accept whatever gift she wants you to have. You don't want both my parents to hate you, do you?"

Danny had a marginal expression at first, but quickly caught on to the shy begging in her tone. "Oh, yeah, sure. I'll try to stop by later this afternoon."

She smiled a nearly unnoticeable smile and gave him grateful look. Realizing she hadn't paid any heed to Tucker's presence, she turned to him and said, "And as for you, you dropped this." She held up what looked like a small, round discus that refracted the sun's light to make it shine in a prominent spectrum of colors.

"Hey! That's my configuration disc! I was looking everywhere for this! Where'd you find it?" he asked excitedly.

"I found it on the sidewalk when I was walking to school," she answered haphazardly.

"Wait, what? You went _alone_?" Danny intervened.

Sam cast the fieriest glare he'd ever seen her give him. "Yes, just like I always do. Why? Is there a problem?" She made sure to emphasize the last word just enough that he'd get the point.

Tucker didn't seem to notice the emphasis placed on 'problem' but began to shrink away from anger she was emanating. He decided it was best to go with the pack leader on this one and sided with her. "Yeah, Danny, is there a problem?"

His shoulders sagged but the rest of his body tensed. However, he wanted to honor her wishes. This was, after all, her problem. This issue had nothing to do with him or Tucker. "No; there's no problem."

The bell rang urgently at that precise moment, telling all the students waiting outside that it was time for school. It was also telling them if they were late again it would mean bad news.

"We gotta go; I can't afford one more tardy slip this semester," he said.

The trio agreed—they'd all been late before and it wasn't exactly fun getting detention for saving Amity Park from ghosts all the time. Plus, Danny was the one who was late most often because while Sam and Tucker stood back and helped indirectly, he was the one who actually threw the punches. Well, in his case it would be his ghost rays.

"Ah, Ms. Manson. You were gone for a long time. I assume you're feeling well now?" Mr. Lancer asked her as she was walking into his classroom.

She took her desk next to Danny and Tucker and said, "Yeah." Her answer was so concise it was believable.

The teacher nodded and walked toward the whiteboard to begin his lesson. "Today," he started, "We will be discussing lower Asia and its large population."

Sam heard Danny groan next to her; he hated history because it bored him to snores. And he'd already gotten busted twice for snoring in class. She probably would've continued to think about how funny it was whenever he was found out, but a wave of lightheadedness swept over her. She held her head and tried to stay focused enough to physically take notes, even if she couldn't mentally take them.

"And during this war..." Mr. Lancer's voice droned.

Okay, so... something about a war in Asia—no, lower Asia. And then something about the outcome damaging an empire? Her vision began to blur as she still fought to jot down everything as he spoke it. Reluctantly, she put down her pencil and cupped her hands around her forehead. Thinking she'd simply missed sleep last night and was now tired—she really did miss a hefty amount of sleep—she closed her eyes and tried to think of anything but schoolwork. Hearing Danny lightly snoring next to her didn't help much.

Before she knew it, class was over and the lunch bell sounded. She decided that her dizzy spell was probably almost over and she'd simply wait it out. But she sat at her desk motionless for several minutes before her teacher finally took notice.

"Ms. Manson, is everything alright?" he asked. "You usually rush off to lunch with your friends."

"Swell," she replied. Images of the negative test flashed in her head, and in turn, doubts began to rouse. What if it...what if it was wrong?

"Are you sure you don't want to see the school nurse? You may not be completely over your sickness yet," he insisted.

"No, I'm fine," she returned, determined not to allow anyone to figure out even the slightest hint of what happened to her.

"Very well. I'll leave you be, then."

Sam just barely nodded. Her head was throbbing not with pain, but with confusion. And unfortunately for her, it was only worsening as her teacher walked out of the classroom to go eat his lunch.

Her vision soon failed her as everything looked like it was hopping up and down, rapidly as if mocking her distorted eyesight. Closing her eyes, she soon discovered, made things worse—it made her feel this instinctive need to grab onto something. The only way to describe how it felt would be a rocket taped to a merry-go-round. She knew logically that she wasn't moving but she _felt_ everything shift and heave underneath her.

Although she knew closing her eyes would do more harm than good, she closed them anyway in hopes that somehow it would restore her vision. Some she had migraines that got so bad she could hardly keep her eyes open, and closing them helped relieve the pain. However, this was no migraine—not even close to one—and her instincts forced her to clutch the edges of her desk. Holding onto something didn't help at all—it felt like her desk was moving with her. The rocket-taped-to-a-merry-go-round feeling was enough to make her unintentionally press her back to the back of her seat. It was horrible and she'd never felt anything like it. It needed to end!

Oh…she was getting sick now… No extreme amusement park ride could be enough to make her throw up, but this… She had to suppress gags. It didn't help that her throat was constricting, trying to help her keep her food down. Her tightened throat really just made it worse. Then there was her stomach, which obviously wasn't happy being on the no-way-could-this-be-imaginary ride. It kept doing lovely and expert acrobatic flips and twists. She agreed with it—she wanted off this evil merry-go-round.

Danny came back moments after Mr. Lancer's departure. He immediately noticed something was wrong with her. "Sam, you okay?"

"What do you think?" she drawled, holding back another gag. She shifted one hand and put a little more of her weight on the other to try to increase her comfort. It didn't work, and she gripped the desk even harder. "Evil…" she strained, talking more to herself than Danny.

"Is it a headache?" he inquired.

"No, I can't stop spinning! I'm gonna puke…!"

"Spinning? As in, dizziness?"

"Get me off of it," she shakily whispered to herself, to her brain more than anything.

"But...Sam, I thought you said the test results were negative."

"I...can't even remember it anymore. I think they were, though."

"Did you misread it?" he asked.

"I doubt it. It was one of those things that actually spelled out 'pregnant' and 'not pregnant'." she answered. GET OFF THE MERRY-GO-ROUND!

Danny sighed. Had the test been wrong? Sam was already showing two symptoms of pregnancy. He glanced down at her stomach, trying to imagine it growing to an unrealistic size. But there was just no way he could picture her pregnant. And on her small frame, there would be no hiding a baby. In fact, if she was with child, it would probably start to show within around two months.

He offered a hand to help her up. She recognized his chivalry, despite her severely disrupted eyesight and took it, even though she didn't feel like standing. And to prove it, she wobbled around, her knees ready to buckle and her body swaying like a metronome.

"Wow, you really are dizzy, huh?" he said.

He led her to the cafeteria and allowed her to lean most of her weight on him. Walking was gonna be the death of her… It didn't hurt but she could tell, by feeling Danny pushing and pulling her different ways, that she was constantly veering in directions she wasn't supposed to go. If not for him she would be either running into walls or collapsing on the floor. If she was on the floor, there was no doubt in her foggy mind that she wouldn't be able to get back up on her own.

She realized that she was probably throwing Danny off balance as he tried to keep her upright.

The pair was greeted by Tucker as Danny helped Sam walk toward the kitchen line. Her vision was starting to get better but her balance was still lost and she was hopeless without it.

"Woah, what happened to Sam?" he mused.

"Nothing, she just stayed up too late," Danny answered, not knowing whether he was lying or not.

Her eyes lifted. Through her confusion, which wasn't too much to begin with but it was still very uncomfortable, she smelled the food that the school served. There was always some meat, so it pretty much blocked out the scent of cooked veggies. But, though normally a vegetarian, her eyes lit up at the thought of meat.

She got vegetables only to retain her vegetarian status. There were a few fruits involved as well, but all of these combined couldn't relieve her meat fetish. That hot, steaming, juicy meat... She was disgusting herself, really, but she couldn't stop thinking about it. Even with the thought of butchered cows in her mind, she had a slight longing for meat. She refused to eat it though. The gross stuff, made from animals that did nothing wrong to receive a death sentence… It was filthy and inhumane!

"Uh, Sam?" Tucker waved his hand in front of her face and snapped his fingers, trying to call her back to Earth.

She blinked. "Huh?"

"You were staring at his food," Danny answered for him.

"What? No I wasn't. I was just thinking," she lied, turning her head away from Tucker's awful meat.

"About what?"

An unknowing look crept into her eyes. "Does it matter?"

The boys exchanged curious glances. "Guess not," they said at the same time.

The individualist munched on a celery stick, trying her best not to think about meat for the rest of lunch. The bell rang again, signaling the next period.

Quorums of students roamed about, jostling each other in an attempt to get to their next class. This was where Sam parted ways with her friends. She had P.E. next, whereas they had their own classes to attend. She, too, joined the crowded halls until she was in her destined class.

The room she now stood in was huge, being as it was the gym. The ceiling was covered with metal support beams that intersected, forming the outline of large skyward squares in perfect alignment to the next. The walls were painted a soft goldenrod color with a strip of white bordering the floor. White lines formed a basketball court.

The coach stepped into the room, locking the door to her office. She was a large woman with a deep voice to match. Her hair was brown and her eye color was a pastel green color. "Okay, to get us started, we'll do ten laps around the gym."

Everyone groaned in displeasure. Laps were done on the very edges of the gym walls, and since it was huge, nobody wanted to start off with laps. Especially not ten of them.

"Weren't we supposed to play football outside today?" one person dared to ask.

"It's raining; I'm ordered to keep you all in here for exercising. Football can wait." Mrs. Tetslaf replied gruffly.

Sam sighed, still having not fully recovered from her lightheadedness. She wasn't dizzy anymore, but her head felt like it could float away at any given moment. And not just her head, but her body as well. It made her feet feel like pure iron as she ran, struggling to keep pace with the rest of the class. Normally this would be _too_ easy, but given the circumstances it was difficult. Hopefully Mrs. Tetslaf would see it as an act of pity for the other students—hopefully she would think Sam was only holding back for their self-esteem.

* * *

The goth flopped on her bed and put an arm over her eyes. Such an exhausting day... But there was also the fact that she had homework to do. Too bad the weekend never came soon enough...

"You know, you really shouldn't have insisted you walk home alone," Danny chuckled. "I'm not gonna let that happen."

Sam moved her arm and lazily stared up at the ghastly emerald eyes. She understood why he didn't want her alone, but she still needed her space. "Danny, I'm a girl, and girls like their space."

His shoulders sagged and he averted his eyes.

She sighed, partly from exhaustion. "Listen, Danny, I know you're trying to make up for...what happened," she didn't want to say the word aloud, "Okay, and I know I was mad at you before, but that was because I...felt like I needed to blame someone. And since it was you I called for, I naturally just...blamed you. I'm sorry."

"It's alright. By the way, what were you doing in the nurse's office at school?" he asked.

"I passed out in P.E. today..." she murmured, almost hoping he hadn't heard her.

"Was it a dizzy spell?" he inquired.

She slowly nodded her head, not removing her eyes from the ceiling. It wasn't necessarily a dizzy spell, but there wasn't much other way to describe it. All she knew was that one moment she was seeing double and the next she was on the floor, dazed and completely out of it. It was like she had retreated into her own mind while other students were gathered around her, some scared out of their wits—these were the nerds, for the most part—and some worried sick. The coach was there too, she remembered, and had been violently shaking her in an effort to wake her up. After that, she was ordered to go to the nurse's office and under no circumstances was she allowed to leave until the bell rang for next period.

"Sam, it's...it's starting to look more and more like you're pregnant." He lowered his voice to make sure it was impossible for her parents to hear.

Sensing this, she said, "Relax. My parents aren't even home yet. And about that pregnancy thing, the test was negative," she reiterated.

Hating to break this kind of thick ice, he added, "And sometimes those tests are wrong. You only used one, right?"

"I know. Believe me; I've had my own doubts throughout the day."

"When are you going to take another?" he asked.

She groaned. That was a good question. She turned over on her belly. If the test was wrong, then this would hurt in a few months. But a different pregnancy test would show whether or not she was…well, pregnant. She'd certainly shown some symptoms. In fact, the only ones she hadn't had were mood swings and the need to pee a lot.

The specter sat on the bed next to his friend. He knew this had to be hard for her, and while he was happy she had her spirits back, he wished she never had to get them back in the first place. "Sam, I'm so sorry. If only I'd been there, I could've prevented this..."

"We don't know for sure if I'm pregnant yet! Don't jinx it, you jerk!" She hissed, angrily punching his arm.

He didn't wince; it didn't even hurt. Not because he was a ghost right now, but simply because Sam wasn't very strong. Well, not until she wanted to be, at least. "That's not what I was talking about..."

After a few seconds, it dawned on her that he didn't mean the pregnancy thing, but what happened three weeks ago. Suddenly, she wasn't angry at him anymore. "Oh. Sorry, I thought you meant-"

"Don't worry about it," he assured.

Sam rolled back over and sat up. "Why do you keep looking out for me?"

He grinned and answered, "'Cause I'm a big jerk."

"Alright then, big jerk, I'm gonna start drinking, so you might want to entertain yourself 'cause this'll take a while," she said, chuckling lightly.

"Drinking? You're underage!" he protested, shocked that she'd even think of doing that.

"Not that kind of drink!" She shoved water bottle labeled 'Dasani' in his face. "I don't need to go to the bathroom right now, so I thought I'd speed up the process."

His face turned puce and he smiled sheepishly. "Oh..."

She rolled her eyes, a perfectly fitting action for her personality, and began chugging down water.

A/N

So...what do you guys think will happen next? Hmmmm? ;) Those of you who've read the original version, don't tell. In fact, I'm starting to wonder whether or not I should simply take down the original because this new version might as well be the same thing, plus I'm adding to it anyway. :/ I dunno.

Okay, so those of you who've read the original version should know that I did a terrible job at describing Sam's dizziness, as well as what happened in P.E. In fact, I didn't describe P.E. at all, and all I said about Sam's dizzy spell was that she couldn't focus and didn't want to stand up. Not much of a description in that, is there? Well now look! :D HUGE difference in what you could see!

Also, are you wondering about how weird that dizziness was? How it seems unrealistic? It's not unrealistic at all. I have dizzy spells EXACTLY like that. Instead of (when my eyes are open) 'spinning', everything is a vertical blur to me. When I close my eyes, I literally feel like I have to hold onto something (and I will start grabbing stuff) so I don't fly off the merry-go-round. It's a terrible feeling, and it really does make you sick at your stomach even if extreme/insane amusement park rides don't affect you. And by the way, 'spinning' hardly cuts it. It CAN feel like your spinning, but it also feels like everything underneath you is rocking and turbulent, like the ground can give way at any moment. It makes you want to grit your teeth. And guys, in your mind you know it's not real, but every single thing feels VERY real. I actually have to open my eyes sometimes (even though it's pointless) to make sure none of it is really happening. It's bad, and if you think that that scene or feeling isn't real or couldn't possibly be believable, think again.

And the seeing double part of it? That's just as real. Covering up one eye won't help much. It only makes you steer yourself the other way (when you see double you can still walk straight because you automatically focus in the middle of your line of sight).

Passing out and waking up feeling like you're watching everything from a seat in the back of your mind? Real. And you get a bad headache afterward from where your head hit the floor.

You also do tend to make it hard on anyone who's trying to hold you up because you really will go in different directions and as you lose your balance, you bring them down with you. So yeah, Danny was having a pretty hard time helping her. And it might seem mean, but he really did push her and pull her; that was to help her though, he had no other way of steering her toward the cafeteria. My brother had to yank me around a few times when we were going for a walk because I kept moving onto the road. So it seems rude/mean, but it's not. And since she's leaning on him, he has to pull her back to him every time she starts to move away. Every time she starts running into him (which will obviously cause him to trip), he has to push her back. So it may seem more like a bad thing, but it's actually a good thing.

Okay, now that that's been cleared up, review quota is twenty-nine (29) reviews.

Review replies:


	4. Chapter 4

~Chapter 4~

The bathroom door opened, and Sam looked pretty tired as she came out. He didn't know whether it was because of what happened earlier today—especially that dizzy spell; that must've taken a lot out of her—or if it was actually depression from a positive test. He really hoped it wasn't a positive test… He knew Sam well and although she could break any challenge in half, she wouldn't be able to handle being a mother. Should the test be positive, he knew that she would hate every second of her pregnancy and would immediately start looking for a married couple—she would rather have a married couple raise a child than a single person—to adopt the baby once it was born.

"Well?" the halfa asked nervously.

"Another negative," she said, much to his relief, "I'm not pregnant. But the sickness and fainting...what is it?"

Danny let out a sigh of relief, along with the breath he didn't even know he'd been holding. "I don't know. Maybe you're just getting sick." Although sickness was hard to believe with her, a girl all but immune to any kind of sickness.

"Um... Well, I know I've only shown those two symptoms...but there's been more that you haven't seen." She averted her eyes and continued, "I gained two pounds in three weeks. And I feel tired more often than I used to. And...that one time at lunch, when you thought I was staring at Tucker's food...I-I was actually looking at the meat."

"At...meat?_ You_?" he repeated in disbelief, jaw dropped and eyes wide.

She blushed and looked away, letting her body talk for her.

He frowned. "I think this thing is making you paranoid, Sam."

"Danny, you know me. I don't get paranoid," she combated.

He honestly had never seen her get paranoid over anything before, but there was a first for everything. "But let's be logical here. You took two pregnancy tests, both negative, and now you're saying you have the symptoms of pregnancy. Maybe I shouldn't have suggested the tests at all."

Anger roiled inside her. How dare he say what she felt and didn't feel? He wasn't going through it; he wouldn't know! "Yeah, well! Maybe you shouldn't have even brought it up!" she yelled.

As soon as the hybrid opened his mouth to speak, quick and hasty footsteps were heard coming up the stairs. The door flew open and hit the wall with a loud _smack!_ before Mr. Manson rushed into his daughter's room. Apparently her parents had come home and neither of them had noticed.

"Samantha! I heard you-" He stopped as soon as he saw Danny, who was no longer a ghost. Suddenly worry was replaced with fury and his eyes burned with hatred. "You..." he growled, his fists clenching, "You stay away from my daughter!"

"Yeah, Danny, just go! And don't bother coming back!" she vehemently agreed.

Having a sudden urge to leave, he crept uncomfortably out of the room and practically ran the rest of the way out the door, slumping down on her front doorstep. A click was heard, signaling that the door had been locked to keep him out. Man, Sam must've been pretty ticked at him...

He got up and took three steps before his ghost sense went off, his breath easily seen in the frigid weather. Cue Phantom.

"I'm going ghost!" he shouted to no one in particular.

* * *

The goth's anger faded after a while, and she realized that she meant none of what she'd said. Why _had_ she said that anyway? And…why had she yelled at him? He hadn't done anything wrong. Given the circumstances that easily helped set the mood of the environment, namely her father barreling into her room to find the one person he seemed to hate most, she shouldn't have said any of what she did. Telling him to go away was one thing, so long as it had been about getting away from her dad. But no, instead she _sided_ with her dad. He hadn't really done anything to deserve it. If anything, she should've defended him. Maybe say he'd only come over to let her copy some notes. That would actually have been a very good idea. She wasn't able to take notes in class thanks to that horrible merry-go-round.

"What's wrong with me?" she whispered to herself, making sure her father was fully out of sight and earshot before climbing down the vines growing next to her window. It wasn't unnatural to her to sneak out this way—or any other way at that. She'd been doing it ever since the vines had grown strong enough to support her weight. And another two pounds definitely wouldn't make a difference. Hopefully.

She needed the fresh air, and also to find Danny. It would be better if she were able to apologize to him.

"Danny," she called, "Danny, are you there?"

An angry voice answered her, "So this is where you live..."

Sam's eyes widened in fear and she swore something snagged her heart; she recognized this voice. She wasted no time in running, not even turning to look first. For some reason, her fear overpowered logic this time and she ran past her house, instead of in it.

* * *

"Ha! You can never defeat the great and mighty Technus!" said the ghoul Danny fought, in what had to be the most annoying and distinctive voice in the entire ghost realm.

He got up from the ground for a sarcastic comeback, "So you got another upgrade. You should really congratulate yourself. You're the only ghost I know who can upgrade himself all he wants and still fight like a little girl." Technus didn't even look different. Saying that he got yet another upgrade wasn't intimidating in the least. Now if he was bigger, maybe that would help him actually look like a major threat—right now he was considered a minor threat; something that was lower than a major one like Skulker or Walker, but something above the Box Ghost.

This seemed to anger Technus, and the ghost shot electricity—green, as it was infused with ectoplasm—from his fingertips.

Thinking he had the advantage, Danny Phantom forced intangibility on himself. But instead of phasing through the lighting, like it normally would, the currents caught him and wrapped around him, causing electrical tremors to vibrate his body. So Technus wasn't kidding when he said he upgraded… He really did manage to make himself more powerful, but only slightly—as far as Danny could tell anyway.

Once they faded to nothing but a few sparks, he freed himself and glared at his foe.

"Now where was the sarcasm you used earlier, hm? I was looking forward to that," the foul specter mocked.

As though the electricity had done nothing to him, the halfbreed stood straight up in the air and inhaled deeply to release a ghostly wail, a collection of sound waves with frequencies so high that it sounded low. It was made stronger and denser, which enabled it to push enemies back, thanks to the special ghost powers that inhabited it. And he'd have done quite a bit of damage to his opponent using this technique, if not for the sight that caught his attention.

Sam was running from a large man dressed in a long beige overcoat and black gloves. This outfit always spelled disaster. He wasn't there for her last time, but this time...

"What's the matter, child? Afraid to lose?" Technus continued to taunt.

Normally, this comment would've spurred him to fight harder. But with Sam in danger, he felt absolutely no urge to listen. He lurched towards Sam, the flashbacks of her story filling his head and enraging him. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

* * *

The goth felt a heavy force tug her back, and she soon found a knife to her throat. Two arms held her, and the knife was angled so that if she turned her head, her throat would be slit. She trembled, but was careful to stay still.

"Now you can't tell anyone about our little rendezvous!" the large man whispered hoarsely into her ear, "And I won't have to go to jail...I'd say I win."

"D-D-Danny..." she breathed, tears managing to escape.

"Some people never learn..." he muttered to himself, gathering the necessary strength to slice through human flesh. "DON'T HURT HER!" a desperate voice echoed.

This...this was Danny's voice! He was...here? Now? And he was going to save her! She would live!

"B-Behind you..." she struggled. At first it was unclear who she was talking to, but it soon became apparent that her words were aimed at Danny.

The ghost turned just in time to have another specter ram him. He grunted and fell to the ground below him, in full sight of Sam and her assailant.

"Danny! You came!" she said, delighted despite the knife and the man behind her.

"Not another move, kid! Come near me and the girl goes!" the man warned.

Right when Technus drew what looked like a tricked-out shotgun from over his shoulder, Danny put an ecto-shield around himself, careful of his advances toward his endangered friend. He didn't want to upset either villain too much; this could result in her death. If he approached the man that held Sam captive, he might kill her. He had a shield around himself—all it took was one ectoblast to bounce off his shield and hit Sam.

The vegetarian's eyes flickered to the man, and then back to Danny, silently pleading with him to help. She couldn't help but wonder if the guy who held her captive had a knife the first time he'd gotten his hands on her.

Realizing that he couldn't come any closer than he already was, he paused. Technus had even realized his attacks would be no good against such a powerful barrier the phantom had erected. There was something different about it. It was denser, much harder to break. But how had it grown this powerful? This strong? It had never been too strong to break before.

Danny turned invisible, which shocked the man into an awe-stricken trance, and let down his shield. Not even Technus could see where he was. But normally ghosts could see other ghosts, even when invisible. Why was this different? Why couldn't he see where his foe was? He should be able to...but he couldn't…

The halfbreed vanished into the ground and reappeared right in front of Sam, though no one could see it. He reached out an arm and grabbed hers, letting his intangibility flow into her. Now that she was untouchable, he scooped her up bridal style and flew into the air, feeling weak from both the fight with Technus and the emotional strain of the situation.

The man was left stunned and petrified at the same time. Not to mention angry. It was the exact same for Technus.

* * *

"You okay?" he asked softly, becoming both visible and tangible again.

She nodded, but the tears told him otherwise.

"I'm sorry. I know I should've been there the first time; I hope this makes up for at least a little bit of it," he said.

"Don't drop me," she answered.

"Since when have I ever-" he stalled to bank to his right, just managing to avoid a well-aimed shot. A quick glance revealed the assailant.

"You can't just run away from a fight! No _real_ man would do that," Technus taunted.

"Oh, great..." he mumbled.

Both ghosts embarked on a short chase, running through walls, around buildings, and past cars before Danny began to get tired and physically incapable of using most of his powers. The person he held began to notice how quickly he was losing altitude. She mumbled his name to encourage him. He tried, but couldn't completely make up for the lost airspace. In fact, he only rose about ten feet into the air.

"I...can't keep flying," he breathlessly told the goth, "I'm drained."

"What do you mean you're drained?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm running low on energy," he corrected.

"Then go to the ground and escape," she suggested, though her thoughts were elsewhere at the time.

"No; you're going home first. I'm not gonna be able to keep this up for much longer and I need you to be safe," he strained as he tried to pull her up onto his back and give his arms a rest.

She wrapped her legs around him and, with much difficulty, climbed aboard his back.

"Change of plans, teenagers!" the ghost cried out from behind them. He shot a glowing green net at him, and Danny didn't have it in him to get out of the way. He got hit, along with Sam, and fell the rest of the way down. "Looks like your little shield really took it outta ya!"

Hoping he could still use this power, he told his friend to stay back and took in a deep breath. As soon as this breath was released, an empowered wail should've been drawn forth, but nothing happened.

A very feminine scream was heard from the background right before he blacked out, "Eat thermos, freak!" It was followed by a blue streak across the dark sky, and then...nothing.

* * *

"Danny, are you okay?" a male voice asked.

Through bleary eyes he observed his surroundings. He was in his bed in his room, back at Fenton Works. Sam was sitting in a chair, not looking very eager to go anywhere anytime soon, and Tucker was right beside him. He must've been the voice.

"Danny, I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of what I said. I don't know what came over me," the goth quickly apologized, clearly thinking he might slip back into unconsciousness again any minute now.

"It's okay," he answered, "Sorry for the first time."

"What happened to Technus?" he asked, remembering the events just before he passed out from fatigue.

Tucker smirked, as though he'd actually helped in the situation, and said, "Technus is back in the ghost zone. I don't think he'll be coming back out anytime soon. Jazz kept him in that thermos for the longest time!"

"Jazz? She was there? Is she alright?!" he panicked, and then remembering Sam, he turned to her and continued to panic, "Sam! Are you okay?! You aren't hurt are you?!"

"Danny, _relax_. Jazz is fine. It turns out; you couldn't have been at safer place at a safer time. Jazz already knew Technus had gotten out, and she went to stop him. But right when she got out the door, you were there about to faint. She also freed us from the net," she explained.

"That net? The one that hit us?" he wondered.

"That's the one."

"Hold on... That net hit you, too, didn't it? But that was a ghost net, so...you got hurt from it..." his voice trailed off as he realized he'd failed to protect her simply because he was there.

He'd failed again, twice now. Twice! He should've been there for her to begin with! None of this would've happened if he somehow convinced her dad to let him stay, to let them keep having their conversation in private. But no, of course not. Instead, he chose to go outside—he chose to leave her alone. He knew there was a chance she would want to come out, yet instead of staying around the vicinity of her home, he made the stupid decision to fly away from her, far enough away to the point where he couldn't see her very well. In fact, he didn't see her at all until she ran into full view behind Technus. Had he been facing the other way, he never would've seen her and she would be dead right now. She nearly died because of his mistake.

"Well, I got a little banged up from the fall, if that's what you mean," she clarified.

"So then the net didn't harm you?"

"Nope. I'm a human, you forget. Ghost nets would hurt you only because you're a ghost. And although I couldn't walk through it like in the ghost zone, it didn't truly hurt me on its own."

Danny turned to Tucker, who had been listening to their conversation the whole time. His expression told him he knew nothing about what happened. "Tucker, could you give us a little time alone?"

The geek nodded and walked away, probably to go talk to Jazz and find out more information. That was pretty useless though, considering she had no knowledge of any of the events before he passed out.

"Honestly, Danny, I don't know if you remember it, or even if you realized it when you did it, but you defended me from the ground. Right at the last second, you must've realized that the fall could've killed me, and you turned so I landed on top of you. If not for you...I might not be here right now," she told him.

"I did that?" he said absentmindedly, his brain not yet registering what she'd told him.

"Yeah. I should probably thank you for that," she replied, smiling sweetly to avoid upsetting him.

"Well _don't_ thank me. I could've prevented you from being hurt at all. But instead I used up too much power fighting Technus while you were in serious danger," he said, referring to the man who'd captured her.

The vegetarian's face drained of color as she recalled what happened before the events of her involvement in the fight with Technus.

"See? If it was a ghost, I could've sensed it," he huffed in frustration.

"Danny, I'm not going to blame you like I did before. It's not even your fault. You saved me. Isn't that enough for you?" she asked curiously, her face not yet having regained its color.

"No! No, it's not enough! Not when I could've avoided any injury! In fact, I could've prevented all this from happening!" he denied.

"You're being too hard on yourself. You can't keep me from getting cuts and scratches; it's a part of life. On top of that, all I got were these bruises on my elbow and knee. Nothing serious."

"But it could've turned into something serious..." he mumbled.

The individualist reached down and took one of his large hands in both of her smaller ones. "Danny, I..." she thought about admitting the feeling she felt right now, but decided not to, "I was just wondering if you got enough rest."

"Plenty," he grunted.

"Well, get some more. You really shouldn't even ask if _I'm_ the one okay. Take a look at yourself," she snorted.

Danny looked down at himself. His jeans were ripped in all sorts of places—none too embarrassing—and his shirt looked like it had been fried. He didn't even want to know how his hair and face looked. He groaned, pain filling all sorts of places on his body. This alone was enough to tell him that he had, as Sam had told him, taken the full brunt of the fall.

"Instead of blaming yourself, you should be demanding a thank-you from me," she said, not exactly partial to the word 'demand'.

"I...guess I _did_ save your life. Or at least that's what my bones are telling me," he chuckled.

"Well, I hope you don't mind, but your parents told me to stay here for a while. And for some reason, Jazz agreed," she said.

He gave her a questionable look. Did his parents know what happened to her? Did they know about his identity as Phantom? It was unlikely but then again, Sam getting 'hurt' was unlikely. Sam being attacked _again_ wasn't likely. Yet it happened anyway.

"Don't worry, they don't know anything. They just assumed we'd been mugged," she assured him. "And naturally, that's kinda what I went with," she squeaked.

"Gee, thanks. That'll be good for my social record," he replied sarcastically.

"What social record? Our school rank is 'The Invisibles'. We don't really have a social life, let alone a social record," she retorted.

Another look was cast, but this one was a look of concern. Sam was still very pale and it didn't seem like the color was willing to come back anytime soon. She also looked a little sick, like she wasn't feeling well. "Sam, are you feeling okay?"

Honestly, no, she wasn't. But she wanted him to think of her as strong and independent, a part of her personality that she had gone to insane lengths to prove. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You look pale," the hybrid pointed out.

Pale or not, a blush showed right through. He knew her all too well... "Okay, so I don't feel like number one, no big deal."

"Are you nauseous?"

Darn it! How did he know? Who told him? "A little, but it's nothing really."

"There's a bathroom right there," he pointed to the door in front of his bed. Though she glanced over to it, she didn't leave him. Was this...could this be right? Sick again? Sam? No way could she be sick—she was Sam and Sam had a very strong immune system; something was definitely wrong here. "I would suggest another-"

"No! I'm not taking another test, Danny. I've already taken two, and both turned out negative. Besides, I'm still full from all that water I had to drink to take the last one," she said defiantly. But the worried look he had on his face urged her to at least think about it. There may have been a possibility that both of them hadn't tested the way they should've. And she _had_ been showing and feeling the same symptoms as someone who had conceived. So...did that mean she had conceived?

No. No, that wasn't possible. Two pregnancy tests, two different brands, but one simultaneous result. If one of them hadn't tested right, that was fine. But the chances of them both testing wrong? Not even in the single digits. Probably not even at all.

**A/N**

**Well, there you have it, the third chapter. Sorry it took so long. :( I've been busy lately.**

**Oh, and guess what? Today is my 18th birthday! :D**

**Review quota: none. There's no quota because, and I didn't realize this until I went to look at reviews for review replies, I remembered that I was in such a hurry to update the last chapter that I put a quota but didn't put any replies. Now I'm balancing it out.**

**Review replies (note that these come in order, first to last, that they were reviewed):**

**_Alisi Thorndyke_- *shrugs* I've had my bladder about to burst before, and when that happens there's just no room for compassion to a 'nice story'. Ugh, I had to burn my brain out once (hardly even ate) studying up for the history finals. :P She sorta did do that.**

**_SamXDanny_- Well I've taken down the original FWB to remove all hopes of temptation. I'm changing things in this version anyway so honestly, why read the original? I'll put it back up once this story's finished. Thanks!**

**_princessbinas_- That sounds more like passing out. D: Are you okay?!**

**_bs13_- I need both motivation and pick-me-ups (for when I feel like my writing is worth nothing) to continue updating. You've probably already seen, but I've taken down the original. Now no one can use it as a cheat sheet. What's the point of reading this story if you already know what happens?**

**_Em-ster 9-1-1_- Thank you. :D**

**_Kitty in Boots_- Thanks. :) I would like to believe my writing skills have sharpened a little since three years ago when FWB was started.**

**_Inuyuke_- Thanks! I've taken it down. No more cheating. :)**

**_Guest_- Well yeah. That's because FWB no longer exists on fanfiction. I took it down. **

**For those of you who know there's an original, don't bother trying to look for it. I've taken it down; you won't find it anywhere and therefore you can't cheat.**


	5. Chapter 5

~Chapter 5~

"D-Danny..." a small voice whispered.

The halfbreed's eyes inched open to a bright...moon? It was still night? He rolled over and came face to face with Sam, who was about to shake his shoulder if he didn't awaken. Groggily, he complied and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawning, "Hey, Sam." Once his vision was fully restored, however, he saw through the light of an almost-full moon that his friend had only the gravest of expressions. Her eyes were half-lidded, there was no hint of a smile on her lips, and she seemed genuinely distressed. "What's the matter?"

She pulled up a small stick that he'd failed to notice. It looked similar to a thermometer, but it didn't have the sensor on its top part. Instead, what he assumed to be a cap hid a blunted end. It had a tiny screen with a digital figure blinking on it. He took it and squinted to make out the little object, straining to take in the detail of it through the dim glow the moon gave off. It was a pregnancy test. And the blinking figure was a...plus sign? He mentally slapped himself awake and looked it over, as though there was something he was missing. But nothing about it changed. He violently shook the little thing, seeming to strangle it in the eyes of a person walking in at a random time. Again, nothing about it changed. Hoping it was just his vision blurring or hallucinating—hoping even more that he was dreaming right now—he asked, "Is this a positive test?"

Sam nodded grimly. Something began to glisten around the edges of her eyes. "What am I going to do?" she whispered, her voice tiny and unsure, "I don't know how to be a mother..."

Too shocked to speak, he merely listened and waited for his mind to bring forth something that would comfort her. But she didn't continue talking. She herself didn't know what else to say. Danny could tell her that everything would work out, but that might turn into a lie. The last thing he wanted was to lie to her, especially after she'd already been through so much. Maybe he just needed to let her know he was still there for her.

He reached an arm out and put a hand on the goth's shoulder, squeezing slightly. This was meant to be for support, but it only added to the pressure somehow, and she started crying, her tears leaving sparkling trails down her cheeks. "I don't know what to do, Danny..." she sobbed quietly, willing to turn to him for assurance that it would all be okay.

"The first thing we need to do is tell your parents, and then Tucker." When he saw the look of surprise come over her face, he added, "It's better to tell them now so you don't catch them by surprise when you start—" he faltered. There were three golden rules to how to treat a girl concerning her weight, like a manual for men. Rule number one: Never tell girls they look fat. Rule number two: Never tell girls their clothes make them look fat. And rule number three: Never ask girls about their weight. Stay inside those guidelines and you were safe; stray from them and break the rules and you were a dead man. Saying 'when you start getting bigger' would break rule number one.

"What? You just _assume_ I'm going to get fat?" she hissed under her breath.

He slowly took his hand off her. "...I didn't say that."

"You were thinking it! Getting some kind of humor out of this?" She grabbed the collar of his shirt and glared at him. By now, any response he said would probably just enrage her even more.

"I...I never...uh... I-It's not funny," he said, glancing down at her belly. Once more, he tried to imagine it much larger than he'd ever seen it. But it was still impossible.

"Don't look at my stomach!" she hiss-screeched. Her offense was very evident in her angered tones.

"I-I'm not! I swear! I was only thinking about how there was a little life down there!" he pleaded, as though begging her not to pulverize him.

She released her grip, the vegetarian's emotions returning to sad and frightened. "A life that I never wanted..."

He sighed in both relief and pity. This whole ordeal was now twenty times harder on her. "Maybe you could—"

"No!" she interrupted, "I'm not getting an abortion; I'm opposed to animal testing as it is! What makes you think I would want to _kill_ a human life?!"

"Uh...okay. But I was actually going to suggest prenatal care and a doctor."

She blinked. The teen hadn't thought about the medical aspect of this. The expenses would be easily covered, as her family was filthy rich. But there would be no more Nasty Burgers or ice cream-eating contests. Then, after it was born, there would be no more hanging out and fun time with her friends. Her whole life would literally change for the worst. It wouldn't be about her anymore, it would be about the baby. "You're right... I have to think more rationally."

"Well, maybe not rationally, but more responsibly. I mean, you're carrying a little guy now," he reminded her. Like she _needed_ to be reminded...

"Yeah... And because I'm suddenly pregnant, you're going to ban me from helping you out with ghosts," she muttered.

He gave her a sort of sympathetic smile. "Sam, you know what I think see when I look at you?" he asked her. Giving her no time to respond, he quickly answered his own question. "A hero."

This seemed to perk her up a little bit. "How?"

"You're being so strong. If what happened to you happened to me, I don't think I could've handled it. On top of being strong, you're also being brave. You kind of remind me of one of those mighty warriors in the Renaissance times."

"I do?"

"Armor and all," he assured, smiling to help ease the tension that simply wouldn't remove itself from the room.

She blushed. Was this a real feeling or a mood swing? Then again, did it matter? She liked—no, _loved_, what she was feeling right now. Brave and strong... She smirked. Since when had Danny ever noticed that about her until just now?

"But, yeah, I don't want you coming along with me to fight ghosts. It's not just because of the baby. You got hurt because of me, because I was there with you," he added.

"But it was thanks to you that I didn't break a few bones or worse!" she combated.

"And then I tried to fly you home. Technus got hold of me, you got caught up in the fight," he retorted, "and let's not forget that some of this still has to do with the baby."

"But, Danny—"

"No, Sam. I can't let you get hurt like that again." He pulled her into an embrace, making her blush even worse. "I was scared for your _life_. I'm not letting you get hurt again, not after what happened yesterday. I was really scared for you; I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Why? I mean, I was scared, too...but I don't think I was as scared as you were."

"Just...don't ever do anything like again." He pushed away just slightly enough to let her know it was time to break the hug. "Now, I think you have a phone call to make."

"Who am I supposed to tell them the father is?" she wondered aloud, still not wanting to tell her parents what happened. She didn't want her child growing up with the stigma of being a product of rape. She didn't want anyone to think of it as a thing, as an accident, a result of pain. She didn't want anyone to think of it as a mistake of life that was never truly meant to exist, but did nevertheless.

"Why can't you just tell them what happened?" he asked.

"I don't want them to know, Danny. You wouldn't understand..."

She was right, he wouldn't understand. Nothing like this could ever happen to him. He had ghost powers to defend himself with. Meanwhile, she had nothing. He was a boy, who could never be impregnated. Meanwhile, she was a girl, who already _was_ pregnant. Saying he could make this right would be the understatement of the century. What had been done could never be undone or healed. He could help her, sure, but time itself could not heal her. It couldn't ever make this better or easier. Maybe time couldn't, at least, but _he_ could. He was here, now, and right beside her.

"Sam, I promise to do whatever it takes to help you," he said quietly.

"Thanks," she said gratefully.

The door opened and the lights turned on. Both teenagers found Danny's sister, Jazz, standing in the doorway. It had been so unexpected that they didn't have enough time to pull themselves together, and their words came out in a mixture of nervous, non-harmonized madness.

"Uh...Danny was just-but then Sam-and all of a-it wasn't even-but then you came-and so we-but you might've-I was just telling him-but then she—"

"Hey, what's that?" Jazz ignored their jumble of parts of sentences that they'd managed to disgracefully throw together and pointed at the pregnancy test Danny held, a digital plus sign still blinking on its little screen.

The hybrid evened his gaze and slowly but surely moved his arm behind his back, a desperate last resort to try to hide the test. Next step: play innocent. "What's what?"

Jazz walked up to him and tried to peer behind him, only to find his shoulder repeatedly blocking her view. "What are you two hiding?" she questioned suspiciously, raising an eyebrow at both Sam and her little brother and eying them individually.

"Wha-? Hiding? We aren't hiding anything! What gives you that idea?" the goth replied, her fake tones evident.

Danny cast Sam a 'help me' look, but kept a straight face when his sister's eyes landed back on him.

"The fact that Danny won't show me what's behind his back," Jazz answered.

"I'm not hiding anything." The halfa shrugged, and the test slipped out from behind his fingers as a result. "W-Wait! Jazz!"

Too late. Jazz dove beside him and picked up the test. Immediately after it was in her hands, she began examining it. Her eyes widened to inhuman proportions as she registered what it was and what it said. "D-Danny, whose is this?" Not waiting for an answer on her brother's part, her pupils flicked over in Sam's direction.

Red flags shot up all around his mind as he watched Sam's hopeless expression. He knew she didn't want anyone to know. It was a secret that—for now, at least—only he knew about. And the only reason he knew was because he had gone to check on her. He only knew because she'd chosen to tell him. If not for her explanation as to what happened to her three weeks ago, he would be disappointed in her for getting pregnant at the young age of fifteen. He would also be wondering who the father was, and he would probably be heartbroken at the false knowledge that she would sleep with another guy and bear his child.

"Is this yours?" Without waiting for a reply, she turned to Danny to continue her assault, "And who's the father?"

"I, uh..."

"C'mon, Sam, surely you know," she said, turning back to the pregnant goth.

"W-Well..." In all truthfulness, she had no idea who that man was. It was no ghost, otherwise, like he said, Danny would've sensed it. What was she supposed to say? Her eyes probed Danny for an answer.

And Danny felt it. Her gaze was hurt and desperate for help. She didn't want to be caught; no one would know about what happened to her. What other choice did he have? After thinking a few short but important seconds, he made up his mind, "I-I'm...the dad."

Jazz's eyes seemed to drill a hole right into his soul. Her disappointment was almost unbearable. It was easy to see she wasn't angry, but could hardly believe the thought of him and Sam having a baby together. "You? But...I never would've thought..."

"I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. And Sam doesn't want anyone to know until she's ready to tell them. So please don't tell anyone, Jazz," he added.

"I'm your sister, not your mom. You two chose this path, now you have to walk it. And you'd better not leave Sam because of this," she returned, dropping the test at his feet.

Both their faces lit up like red Christmas lights at night. They exchanged quick glances, but didn't speak to each other yet. Their embarrassment would only get worse if they said the wrong thing.

The red-haired teen walked out of the room. She wasn't going to tell on them; she wasn't five years old. Besides, he'd clearly said that Sam was going to tell everyone when she was ready. But as she walked back into her room, she thought about what the baby would look like. Would it have white hair from Danny's ghost half? It would be a quarter ghost, so it would surely have some kind of ghostly trait—hopefully unnoticeable. She knew Danny had worked hard to keep his identity hidden for the longest of times. He'd struggled through many things, his secret being one of them. And if the baby had a clear physical trait of his ghost half, his cover would be blown. But then again...maybe he'd tell everyone before the baby was born.

* * *

"Thanks, Danny. But...why'd you do that? Now she thinks—" Sam started.

"I know. I told you I'd do whatever it took, didn't I?" He smiled a lopsided smile. True, everyone would now think he was the dad because he'd hardly thought about the predicament before speaking, but to Sam, her secret was extremely important. Her parents were the type who'd freak out over the smallest things, so one could just imagine what they'd do about this. On top of that, her dad would probably hate him more, if that was possible.

"But, Danny, I can't ask you to do this," she protested.

"You didn't," he reminded her.

She sighed; he was always so stubborn. That was one thing they had in common. But somehow she felt as though all the pressure was being put on her. Why? Now the baby had a 'known father'; shouldn't this take some of the stress _off_? Maybe it was the fact that they needed to have the same story that was worrying her. What if Danny told a different story than her when she told her parents? And naturally, she'd have to tell his parents now, too. With Jazz thinking he was the dad, and her not wanting to reveal what really happened, his parents needed to be told in order to seal the deal. But how does one do that?

"Uh, Danny? You realize that since you told that little white lie, you'll have to tell your parents. How are you gonna break it to them?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

His face twisted in puzzlement, but he seemed to receive the answer pretty quickly, "I guess we'll just come out with it. Or...maybe on the first ultrasound, we could—"

"Oh...uh... You know, I honestly don't want to have any part of this. I've got the pressure of telling my parents already. You only blurted it out with Jazz. Shouldn't you be the one to tell them?" she advised, more of a statement than a question.

He nodded. It was definitely going to be him, not her, telling his family. "Which only brings us to our next question. How are we gonna tell Tucker? He's not going to believe I'm the dad. He knows us too well."

The vegetarian thought it over for a minute before advising, "We should probably wait. Tucker won't be ready to accept the truth about me being pregnant. God knows I wasn't."

"Or maybe he'll just assume it when your symptoms start adding up. He doesn't know you fainted or were feeling sick, remember? So when he figures it out, he'll just ask us up front," the halfa planned.

"Then I guess we'll play the waiting game with him. But what am I going to do with my parents? We've got yours down, Jazz already knows, and we have a plan for Tucker. But my parents may very well kill you. Should I wait with them?" she questioned.

"I'm staying out of this one. You know your own parents way better than I ever could. That's the same reason you have to break it to them," he said, sounding wiser than his years. "Tell them any way you find best, but I'm the wrong person to ask about this."

"You're the _only_ person to ask about this," she corrected him. "Maybe if you were with me when I told them, they'd just stay quiet and think. And then we both take off while it's sinking in."

"Seems pretty harsh; I don't want them to hate me more than they already do. And it might not work the way you planned. For all you know, the great hero 'Danny Phantom' could get beaten to a bloody pulp by his friend's parents. I'll be lying on the ground dead and if I'm alive, I'll be in the ER and scarred for life. Not exactly how I planned on dying, Sam."

She didn't object; she could easily imagine her dad renting a steam roller just to run him over with. "Point taken. I'll figure something out. In the meantime, try to get as far away from the city as possible."

He chuckled lightly but took the comment a little seriously. Her dad would undoubtedly come after him. "You forgot—I have the power of intangibility."

"Do what you need to survive. Your life depends on it."

He laughed again at her sarcasm. She certainly was powering through this irreversible ordeal. But for now, they both needed rest. He assumed she'd been sleeping at his house before she took the test, so he made a little pallet on the ground and got on it. Good old chivalry showed through again as he offered her the bed.

"I don't want the special treatment because I'm pregnant," she stated.

"It's not special treatment. I'm a floor person and I assumed you were a bed person," he lied.

She smiled and reached down to give him a friendly hug. "Thanks, Danny."

He allowed a wide, giddy smile. Sam hugged him. She hugged him. She had wrapped her arms around him and actually gave him a hug. He honestly never asked for—let alone expected—anything in return. But here he'd gotten a hug! From Sam! It was extremely rare for them to ever be in each other's arms, save for the times he'd caught Sam when she was in trouble. But that didn't really count for much on a romantic level. That kind of physical contact was used only to help her—it was never used for anything else.

He could think about that later. Right now he just wanted to enjoy this moment while it lasted.

**A/N**

**_"Sam, I promise to do whatever it takes to help you," he said quietly._**

**Remember that line. It's the most important line in the entire story, and you'll see why later on. **

**Review quota is fifty (50) reviews.**

**Review replies:**

**_SamXDanny_- :D Thanks! Well, yes, she is pregnant and now we know for sure. In the original version, I asked people to vote on whether she should be pregnant or not. Making her pregnant would make the story harder to write, but I managed to make everything fall into place. If she wasn't pregnant, though, I was going to make her rape tie to Danny's powers growing stronger. *shrugs* All will be revealed, don't you worry. **

**_Alisi Thorndyke_- Thanks! lol! "Let's hope she's not pregnant." XP You have no idea...! In the original version, half of my reviewers were begging me not to make her pregnant, and the other half was begging me to make her pregnant. In the end one lone person broke the tie, and Sam ended up pregnant.**

**_Harmony's Entropy_- Thanks! :D**

**_AJ_- XD Everyone would've gone back to cheat! I mean, who has the willpower to NOT read the rest of a story they like?**

**_bs13_- Yeah, sorry to disappoint anyone but this is like a fresh-start kind of story and nothing good will come of it if everyone knows what's gonna happen anyway. Sam's illness was never actually an illness. In the original version I let readers vote on whether I should make Sam pregnant or not. There was a tie, until one loner broke that tie. Sam got pregnant. It's funny, in a way, but it's also really sad.  
**

**_Dramatic Night Walker_- Thanks! It's sad, yes, but trust me when I tell you that there will be familial dealings, drama, fluff, and MAJOR humor as the story progresses. I promise you, you'll love the humor! Everyone did and everyone cracked up at one point or another! XD No other story has ever used that particular sense of humor, nor the particular cause of that humor. Very original...VERY funny! XD There's a ton of genres in this story that I seem to have been able to successfully roll together and make it so that none of it gets out of place. In fact, this story will change its base plot four times before its done. It's the only story I've ever seen that does that. (I never meant to do it, it just happened.) The storyline, however, plays itself out and won't start to waver for a second. So this way, it retains a certain air of interest. Twists, the unexpected, the raw emotions displayed in this story transfer well over to a reader, which I think is why it's become so popular. Original version had 93 follows and 253 favorites. :) Obviously people loved it. Thing used to get like 20+ reviews per chapter. 33 chapters, 630 reviews. I'm eager to know where this newer version takes up.**

**_PlasticPencils_- Yeah, she's still pregnant. :/ The beginning of FWB was practically founded on that, remember? Of course then it kept changing, ended up with four separate plots wrapped around one base fact. A constantly shifting story...apparently people love it. Keeps them captivated, I guess.  
**

**_mrgirmjaw_- Thanks! :D**

**_HandmadeVeggies_- Thanks! :) lol Yeah, some people have forgotten some of it or at least parts of it, but I know every inch of the original and I know what changes to make as well as where and when to make them, so I won't have much trouble getting these chapters to replicate the original's chapters. I don't know how many people are catching the changes. :/ No one's really saying anything.**

**_Animalistic Ballistic_- Thanks! Nope, it was new. :) The original didn't show how Danny felt about that hug. :( I know, and I'm sorry. But I honestly would rather take down and completely stop the new version if people blow it off simply because they already know what's gonna happen next. It completely takes away from the story.**

**For any who missed it, this story isn't like any other. I've yet to find a story that uses a sole sentence as its base. This one also has FOUR plots wrapped around ONE base fact. To top it, those four plots are already shown. The story also shifts through about six or seven phases without confusing anyone. I've never once found a story that comes close to doing that. They all stay with one base, one (or rarely two) plots, and go through either no different phase, or two different phases. In the process, they tend to confuse people as to what exactly is happening and why it's happening. So this is literally one of a kind and made its way into four communities, three of which were pretty exclusive in the fact that they wouldn't accept many stories. One of them had about ten other fanfics; it was started up two and a half years before FWB's first chapter was written. So this story is really different and I hope you'll all enjoy it. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

~Chapter 6~

Sam had a very hard time getting up that morning, and Danny had a hard time actually _getting_ her up. She'd stayed up too late last night, and now was lazily groaning in her friend's bed this morning. Her emotional state of mind had drained her.

"Come on, Sam! We're gonna be late for school!" he grunted as he grabbed her ankles and futilely tried to drag the goth out of bed.

She groaned yet again, not eager to get up anytime soon, and feeling absolutely no sense of urgency at being tardy. "Don't wanna..."

Danny hooked his hands under her arms and started pulling. Though it took more effort than it should have, he eventually heard the inevitable thud that signaled she was on the floor and out of the bed.

She got up and rubbed her butt. "That hurt."

"Suspension's gonna hurt even worse. You have to get ready; I can fly us to school."

"I'm not exactly partial to the whole flying idea," she protested.

"It's either me or my dad," he gave.

This woke her entirely. She didn't have anything against his dad, but Mr. Fenton was officially the worst driver in world history. Him flying was beyond better when being compared to a hundred and two percent chance of causing a car accident. "Right, let's go."

Sam grabbed her brush, which she'd brought to his house at some point last night, and began brushing her jet-black hair. She finished with this by pulling up a small portion in the back and propping it up, thus completing her usual hairstyle. Then she rushed into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. Eating could wait. Or so she thought...

* * *

After making sure no one was looking, Danny turned the lower part of his arm intangible and got out some text books. Sam soon appeared at his locker, her stomach growling angrily.

"Wow. Skipped breakfast?" he asked, his words less of a question and more of a statement.

"Yeah, you kinda pulled me out the door before I had time to even grab a pop-tart," she recalled.

"Sorry, but we had to go. You know Lancer's gonna suspend me if I get one more late slip. I'm not ready to face that kind of wrath."

"What wrath?"

"It's only possessed by parents," he said, wiggling his fingers in a creepy manner and trying to make his words sound like Hollywood's ghost moan.

She chuckled before answering, "You're just lucky it's nearing the end of the school semester."

The bell rang, forcing Sam to take out the last of her textbooks and hurry to her first class. Danny and Tucker followed right behind her. A small amount of dizziness caught her by surprise, but she ignored it and took her seat in Mr. Lancer's classroom.

"Alright, I see you're all here today, and none of you are late—" He glared at Danny for the longest three seconds. "—to class."

At that moment, a light flickered off, dimming the area which it was meant to illuminate. It was what happened every time a bulb burned out. Though the class was still visible, the light made a distraction. So the teacher took a broomstick, which he'd kept specially for this sort of 'emergency', and banged the bulb until it came back on.

"First lesson of the day: how to get as much electricity as possible without having to pay for a new light bulb," he deadpanned, as though he was actually funny.

As her mentor began to drone about the _fascinating_ events of history, Sam put her chin on her desk and let her eyes slide shut. Normally, she wasn't one to fall asleep in class; but this was different. She'd never felt so utterly exhausted in her life, or at least since she could remember. Why this kind of thing hadn't happened yesterday, she didn't know. Maybe because the burst of feelings she'd felt last night drained her, along with the time spent awake. And then she hadn't eaten yet... No energy equals no learning capacity, and leads to an attempt to regain energy—sleep.

The halfa didn't ever object to sleeping, especially when there was a boring teacher talking on about things he never would comprehend and probably never care about. _And_ would never really use in life. So naturally, he, too, slipped into unconsciousness. Eventually, his breathing evened out with Sam's.

Only Tucker, the ace of the class, managed to stay awake. He looked to his left to find that Sam was having either a bad dream or an angry one. Her fists were clenched tightly, her nails burrowing into her skin, she was mercilessly grinding her teeth, and her expression—even in her sleep—was extremely readable. It clearly said: emotionally upset. Almost like a yellow flag popping up from her head with a red exclamation mark in its center.

Danny was entirely different. He was beginning to drool on his books, seeming to not having a dream at all. His snoring was at a minimal for now, but it might grow into a bear-in-hibernation kind of sound. He'd woken himself up with those snores several times already.

Danny was the nearest one he could reach, so he leaned over and violently shook the hybrid's shoulder until he roused with a confused and groggy, "Huh...?"

"Danny," the geek whispered, "Wake Sam up, will you? Looks like she's being tortured in her own mind."

Though his head didn't budge, his eyes fluttered over to his friend. She _did_ look like a mess. Her eyelids were as tight as could be, and her muscles were tensed so much they were trembling. Obviously she was having a nightmare. He went to tug on the sleeve of her shirt, but a low growl escaped the back of her throat, causing him to pause and still himself. What kind of dream would make someone growl in their sleep? But it didn't matter; if he didn't wake her up soon, she might just alert the whole class by screaming. He grabbed onto her short sleeve, and tugged gently at first, then a little harder. It was only about half a minute before she softly groaned and awoke.

Her eyes darted around in fear, trying to get a clear answer as to where she was at. Meanwhile, her brain was trying to register what had happened. It most certainly was nothing in her nightmarish fantasy, but she was in a classroom. Danny had woken her, and apparently this was because she'd fallen asleep. It was something she hadn't planned on doing, but what was, was. There, that was the gist of it.

Thankfully, the teacher hadn't noticed any of it and unknowingly continued on about Edgar Allen Poe's poem, The Raven, and why it was so popular in modern day society even though it was written so long ago. Not surprisingly, he still maintained a constant monotone, steady voice as he spoke.

"Ugh... I can't stand this much longer..." the individualist grumbled.

Her raven-haired friend yawned and nodded his head in agreement.

"Well, this is supposed to be on our test, so you better pay attention. After all, we've only got about two or three, maybe even four, tests left in the whole semester. It counts for a lot of our semi-final grade, you know," Tucker reminded the twosome.

"Yeah, but still... And if it counts for most of our grade, then why do we bother learning it at the beginning of the year?" he asked, not entirely curious to know.

"Because that's the amount of time it takes to learn all of it. And besides, the semi-final exams cover all we've learned so far. That's why I'm cramming when I get home tonight," he replied.

Sam sighed in exasperation. Tests, homework, schoolwork, quizzes, exams, studies, assignments, projects, presentations. That was her life. The only exciting part was hunting ghosts with Danny. But now that she was pregnant, the highlight of her life was going to be taken away. Now that she was pregnant, everyday tasks would become next to impossible to do. And now that she was pregnant, everyone would think of her as a slut and become disgusted with her. She was disgusted with herself, and it supposedly wasn't even her fault. Why did horrible people exist? Why did it have to be her? Why couldn't this all just end?

The halfa glanced over at his goth friend. She looked tired and bummed. Perhaps it was a side effect of her pregnancy, but it didn't exactly seem that way. Given what had happened...there was just no way it was a mood swing.

"Mr. Fenton! Pay attention! This is going to be on your semester exam!" Mr. Lancer warned.

His head immediately snapped to the front of the room, where the teacher was giving a demonstration of something he'd missed. It looked like the solar system, but what did the Milky Way have to do with history?

It didn't matter; the halfbreed's senses went off. Freezing breath chilled the air around him.

"Fenton! Lay off the Icebreakers and Spearmint! I'm trying to conduct a class!" he yelled, greatly upset with the various distractions his student was causing.

Several snickers could be heard around the room, but none were from Sam or Tucker. They knew all too well what was happening. Both of them got up and walked to the front of the room, where the teacher was on his last nerve. In hopes of providing a decent distraction for their friend's transformation, they began asking a bunch of questions and pointing to the various objects lying on Lancer's desk.

Danny mouthed a quick thank-you to them and turned invisible, escaping through the school walls and leaving the premises, only to find Skulker waiting around. He shouldn't take too long.

The fight began with a blast from the ghoul's palm, followed up with a ghostly wail. But Skulker put up two barriers at the last second, the halfa's attacks breaking both of them but not hitting his enemy.

* * *

"I see... And why does Jupiter have to be so big?" Tucker asked, feigning stupidity.

"Mr. Foley, even I don't know all the secrets of the universe. Such as why pregnant women have such severe mood swings. Now get back to your seat!" he demanded.

"Uh, wait! D-Do you know why they have cravings?" Sam asked, hoping to gain information as well as continue the diversion for their friend's mysterious absence.

"Well, as a matter of fact, it's said they have cravings because the foods they crave contain nutrients the baby needs to grow. But I'm a man, so how should I know for sure?" he replied.

Two people looked at her strangely, as though suspecting her of something. One of these people was Paulina. Oh, God... Most of the time, girls would suspect pregnancy well before boys. It was only natural, since guys were practically _bred_ to be ignorant, especially of female matters. Though, Danny didn't seem to be that way. Most of the time.

"And what kind of nutrients would the baby need, Mr. Lancer?" Tucker continued, giving Sam a 'nice save' look.

"Oh, the same ones you and I need," he twirled his hand nonchalantly in the air and added, "But they also need extras, such as estrogen, which lets the baby grow hair, among other things."

"What's estrogen?" the geek played. It was a nice save, with perfect timing. Except he already knew what it was.

"It's a hormone that is secreted by the adrenal glands, Mr. Foley. Though it's evident in all men, women have more of it in their bodies. Part of this is for having babies. Without the necessary amount of estrogen, females simply wouldn't be females. If they would try to conceive but didn't have enough estrogen in their systems, they most likely wouldn't be able to bear a child. However, if they did conceive but still lacked the hormone, a miscarriage would result."

"A-A miscarriage?" Sam stammered. The news had shocked her; what if this was the case with her? What if she had a miscarriage?

"Yes, Ms. Manson, a miscarriage—where the unborn child dies, usually from a deformity or lack of nutrients. However, this can also be caused by a disease in the mother. And sometimes, the death is genetic."

Her neck soon had a band of sweat around the back of it, and her body was trembling slightly. A genetic thing? The father...she didn't know him! Him or his medical background! Mr. Lancer's words sent her into a state of panic. A million thoughts of what could go wrong swirled around in her head.

"Are you okay, Sam? You look kinda pale," Tucker observed.

"I-I'm fine." She chuckled nervously.

"Are you sure, Ms. Manson? You do seem a bit pale; now that Mr. Foley has pointed it out," Lancer agreed, "Perhaps you should go see the nurse. I think you would be better off if you just rest awhile. Oh, and have her check your temperature while you're there. We don't want a relapse of your illness."

An infamous hero descended from the ceiling, taking a seat and instantly morphing back into his human form. It didn't take a genius to figure out something was wrong. Sam's face was as white as his hair when he 'went ghost'. There was no doubt something disturbing had happened to her while he was gone.

As she walked by him to reach the door, the raven-haired boy asked, "What happened?"

"I'll tell you later. Meet me in the nurse's office," the goth answered.

* * *

"Okay, Sam," Danny said as he walked in, "What's up?"

She was on her side on the nurse's bed, and she didn't respond with any movement that might indicate she was still awake. Danny knew she was sleeping after a minute or two—her breathing was steady and even. He sat down in a chair next to the bed, opposite the side she was facing, and waited. He wouldn't wake her up; a girl who was pregnant needed the extra rest. It was good for her and the baby. Besides, he knew she was tired from last night, and she hadn't eaten yet. She was exhausted.

"Are you here to visit?" the kind nurse asked softly, so as not to awaken the sleeping goth.

He nodded, trying to be as quiet as possible.

"Okay, well you can stay for the time being. But when the bell rings, you have to go. Come back later; by then, she should be up and running," the lady whispered before walking towards a second door in the back of the room.

He stared at his friend. Sam would never have told the nurse about her current condition. He was just happy to be here for her. After all, Sam needed him more than anyone right now. At least until she got over this whole thing, she needed him. Well, not just her anymore... He glanced to her stomach, which was slightly exposed thanks to her shirt's length. For a third time, he tried vainly to imagine it growing bigger—_much_ bigger. But only to no avail. On that small frame, there was simply no way he could picture a disproportionate belly.

The thought of her strength crept into his thoughts. She was so...weak. She wasn't nearly as strong as she'd have liked everyone to think. Her nature was stubborn and willful and most definitely independent, but every time she meant to inflict physical damage that ranged from a pinch to a punch, it never hurt. No wonder she was a prime target for the guy who did this to her. She literally couldn't defend herself.

"Danny..." a small, sleepy voice mumbled.

His eyes snapped back up to her face, but she wasn't awake. Was she dreaming about him? Or maybe he just misheard her. Oh well. At least her torrent of nightmares from earlier seemed to have calmed. He absentmindedly began to hum a tune his mother used to sing to him when he was upset about something. It was some kind of lullaby that always worked on him. Maybe he could tell her he was there if the tune reached into her dream.

A blush started on one cheek, came over the bridge of her nose, and ended at the other cheek. He stopped immediately. It was funny how readable she was when sleeping compared to how she was when awake. The crimson ribbon disappeared almost instantly after he'd stopped humming. Only a tiny smile remained.

Her contagious redness spread to him and became stuck on his face. What was it she was dreaming about? She'd murmured his name, but...did that mean she was blushing at him?

"You too..." she mumbled softly.

You too what? What the blazes was she talking about? Or even more interesting, what was she dreaming about? He'd have to remember to ask her about that once she woke up. But by the looks of her contentedness, that wouldn't be for a good while.

He got up, knowing it was almost time to go to his next class, and whispered a quick, "Bye, Sam. See you later."

**A/N**

**D: Uhm...uh... Holy cow... Where did all these reviews come from...? Um...I just... I don't even... I was taking a little break from writing this story the past several weeks. I come into my room with a bowl of ice cream and see all these reviews. I choked on my ice cream! I mean, it's flattering but I don't know what to do, guys... :( I'm SCARED to give a quota, I really am, and review replies have never been so intimidating! D: WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED WHILE I WAS GONE?!**

**Uhhh...no quota.**

**And I just want to know if you all actually want me to continue with the review replies. I've never had over 100 reviews per chapter. :( I seriously don't know what to do with it!**


	7. Chapter 7

~Chapter 7~

For hours, Danny kept a steady watch on the classroom door. Flashes of Sam flew through his head—their happy times, their sad times, their fights and spats...and their loving times. So many memories of her played at once in his mind, though he didn't know why. Maybe it was because of the nurse's office. She'd talked in her sleep, and ended up mumbling his name. At first he'd brushed it off as nothing too much, but when she said "You, too..." he'd blushed.

Then again, he'd blushed the time she'd attacked him with a roughly-placed kiss on the lips to protect him from Valerie. That girl really would do anything to keep his secret, well, secret. If she hadn't kept her promise, who knows what might've happened to him? Valerie harbored a deep and very personal hatred for Phantom, and if she were ever to find out about his morphing abilities, that he was half ghost, she might well tell the whole world. Or kill him and then expose him. Either way, the outcome wouldn't be very good. But even though that kiss was rough, she seemed to enjoy at least a small portion of it. Maybe she hadn't meant to do it, or hadn't meant for him to know about it, but she'd smiled ever so slightly when she did that.

And then there was another time with Ember in the way. He'd been put under her spell, and had ended up falling in a forced love with Sam. But what baffled him was that, when he finally snapped out of it, she'd said that part of her liked the attention. Did that mean she didn't want a forced love, but a real one? If it was real, then would her whole self like it?

Dang it, that girl was nearly impossible to figure out!

A creak from the opening door brought him from his thoughts. It was Sam. She looked well and rested. Thank God for that... He was afraid the bell ringing might've woken her up.

"What happened while I was gone?" he whispered to her as she took her seat.

"A hundred things that could go wrong is what happened!" she hissed back.

Woah. Hadn't been expecting mood swings in the forecast. But for the sake of his life, he wasn't going to tell her it was her pregnant hormones. Expecting ladies tended to respond horribly to that. So instead, he asked, "With what?"

The arrow on her mood meter swiveled and pointed to sadness as its random emotion. "With the baby..." she murmured.

Oh, yeah. This was definitely a mood swing. No normal person, unless emotionally imbalanced, would change moods so suddenly. But this was either bad or good; because it was so random Danny never knew which mood she would land on next. Hopefully the good ones...

"The baby?" he echoed, a little too loudly.

The goth was about to hush and scold him, but the nearest people turned around or to their sides and stared at him. Then, realizing he was talking to her, their gaze left him and stopped on the pregnant teen. This act caught Lancer's attention, but he was very busy grading papers and couldn't really attend it. Besides, it was a study period. If they wanted to stare at someone, let them. It'd be their fault if they flunked, though.

Paulina had the most suspicious look of the entire class. She seemed to sense something was being hidden from her. And she never liked it when people kept secrets she didn't already know about. "Baby?" she muttered to the pair under her breath.

"Uh... Uhm... H-He didn't say baby, he said..." Sam racked her brain for an answer. What word rhymed with baby that would make sense? 'Lady' was close, but it didn't rhyme! Hundreds of words raced through her mind and she wondered through it all how much time had already passed. "Oh! He said maybe."

Did it fool them? Were they ever going to lift their searing eyes from them? A few figured it was reasonable enough and got back to their studies. But a few people still stared, debating on whether or not she was lying. Paulina, however, wasn't convinced in the slightest.

"Uh-uh." She waggled a finger in a way that said 'no-no' to anyone watching. "You said baby; I know what I heard."

The people who had been fooled now turned their torturous looks back to the pair. Oh, God, please just let this nightmare end already! But God didn't spare them of the relentlessly gazing onlookers. Thanks a million, Paulina...

The Latina waited patiently for an answer. And it was clear she wanted the truth.

"Um..." Darn it! Now she had to come up with a different excuse! And since the few people at nearby desks were suspecting her of teen pregnancy, she had to make it convincing. "I-It's my cousin's aunt. She's having a baby soon. But we don't know when. Or where. Or if it's a boy or girl."

"Oh, really?" the popular girl questioned. Her suspicion was not hidden in her voice.

Sam cast a quick 'help me' look to Danny, who shook his head and responded with a shrug and an 'I can't' look. He was a guy; what did he know about catfights? And this might turn into one if she had a bad mood swing. Either way, she had no choice but to bear the wrath of Paulina, who would tell the rest of the school if she found out, by herself.

"Really," she said unsurely.

"I don't believe you. I think you're lying," Paulina pressed.

There were no more openings. The Latina looked totally unconvinced and sat still, waiting for the truth. So Sam decided to play a pretty risky card—the truth card rigged with heavy sarcasm. "Okay, yeah. It makes perfect sense, doesn't it? I mean, obviously I'm pregnant. Can't you see my bulging belly and swollen ankles?" she said sarcastically. Now it was up to Paulina to take it seriously or not.

"Maybe you're too early to show," she combated.

"Oh, yeah, that's gotta be it. And gosh darn it if I didn't know whether or not I had a kid in me!" Sam kept playing along, hoping that eventually her sarcasm would make the girl give up.

Paulina's eyes narrowed, knowing exactly what she was trying to do. "You're just covering up your tracks. Everyone's going to know if you're lying or if you aren't when you start to show. And you're pretty skinny. I'd say you have about a month to tell the truth before everyone finds out."

That much was true. Sam was thin, but not underweight. People would figure it out once her flat stomach began to swell into a nice little lump.

The girl didn't need wait for a reply; she knew she had her opponent cornered. But she wanted this day to be sweet. Another score for the populars; aka, the A-listers. This would ensure that her own popularity rate would skyrocket.

The vegetarian knew it was over with. Her little facade hadn't played out as she'd planned. The Latina had won; check mate. "Yeah, okay? It's true... Danny said 'baby' and...he was talking about mine." she breathed. Tears filled her eyes, but she would never allow Paulina to have that extra satisfaction of knowing she'd made her cry.

"I knew it. You losers always look for love in the wrong places," she stated matter-of-factly. A smirk of victory grew on her face.

Anger took over and the goth stood up from her desk, surprisingly going unnoticed by the teacher who was wrapped up in his own work. "I'm not a loser! And I didn't look for love in the wrong place!"

Paulina stood too and willingly joined in the new argument with, "Then you mind telling me why you're pregnant?"

Sam's fingers curled under the pressure of stress. Her teeth began to grind together, and in that very instant it was made clear that this wasn't going to end well. She gripped the edges of her desk to keep from smacking her rival square in her prissy little cheek. "It's none of your business how I got pregnant!"

Danny listened to the rant go on and on, and couldn't help but wonder once or twice why Paulina hadn't asked who the dad was. Sure, he'd say it was himself, but he didn't want to go announcing it to the world. He slumped back in his chair. Who was he supposed to root for? Naturally, Sam. But he still had a quite the crush on the girl she was up against. Perhaps remaining silent would do well in such an awkward situation.

"Who are you to call me prissy? You're just a slut!" Paulina berated.

This time, tears couldn't be held back. Along with an angry expression, the trails of salty wetness told everyone how badly Sam was getting beat. Several people muttered around the classroom, some wondering if Sam was okay and others betting on who would win. And any bets that were made were probably on Paulina.

And then there were others still who sneered and snickered at a pregnant teenager.

"Face it, Sam, you're just some other loser's pet. You're just being used! Like a toy!" she continued.

That completely crossed the line for Danny. Sam was his best friend; there was no way he was going to let a crush get in the way of that. Especially not when she was pregnant. He stood up from his desk and moved in front of Sam's, his arms spread wide as though to protect her from something. "Paulina, this doesn't even concern you. Why don't you just sit back down and do your work?" he said calmly, trying to keep an even face.

"Why are—? Oh, right. You're her little loser friend," she panned, as though just meeting him for the first time. "You knew she was pregnant?"

"Yes, I did. And I would've appreciated it if you hadn't made her tell it to the whole class." Anger surfaced, though he tried not to show it. "I heard everything, too. She's not a slut; she's my best friend."

"Only a slut gets pregnant," she said, a serious tone lacing her words.

"Sam's not a slut!" Anger turned to fury and, without anyone's noticing it, his eyes flashed from an icy blue to a ghastly emerald and back. His eyebrows furrowed and he stared at her with such a furious expression that Paulina had to back down. "She's dealt with your insults long enough! Now you're going to stop!"

"Or else what?" she asked, half curious and half arrogant.

"You don't even want to know..." he growled.

"Let me guess, I get beaten up by you? As if. I have Dash and all the other football players to back me up. What do you have?" She smirked, thinking she had him cornered just like Sam had been.

His teeth clenched even tighter. His eyes shot to a glowing green color and flared. The white ring that usually allowed his transformation appeared, but disappeared just as quickly and he didn't expose himself. The eyes stayed as a threat. "Let's just say you don't want to mess with my friends—because if you mess with them, you mess with me. Have I made myself clear?" His irises reverted back to their rich blue color.

Paulina sat back down, frightened, and softly answered, "Crystal."

Danny took his seat and glanced around the room before looking at Sam and smiling at her. He figured just giving her the knowledge that he was there would help ease the pain and shock of what she'd heard and seen.

The people in class looked shocked for a moment, but soon their expressions returned to normal and they went about mumbling and whispering to each other. No doubt all the new conversations were now about Sam's pregnancy.

The bell rang furiously at that instant, calling everyone to lunch.

* * *

"Danny, you almost transformed, and right in front of everyone, too," the goth recalled.

"Yeah, well... I couldn't just sit there and let you suffer. I had to help _somehow_," he replied.

Tucker came to sit right beside them, the look of shock still not gone from his face.

"What's wrong?" he asked his friend.

"I just...and you... How come nobody told me Sam was...? I-I mean—" he began.

"Sorry, Tuck. We just... We didn't know how to tell you. We didn't know how you'd react and so we thought you weren't ready for it. We decided to let you figure it out on your own, but...with that outburst from Paulina..." the halfa's voice trailed off in a frustrated sigh.

"Then who's the dad? I guess I can understand if you didn't know how to tell me, but it would be nice if someone could fill me in on the details. Like how far along you are," he said, both turning and gesturing to Sam.

The individualist sighed. "I'm about three weeks. And the dad is..." She didn't finish, waiting for Danny to step in for her. She'd already told him, indirectly, that she was pregnant. Now it was the halfbreed's turn to tell him about the dad.

Danny raised his hand. Since he wasn't really the father, this was much easier to do.

The techno-geek almost fell out of his chair. He pulled back and gasped. "Well, actually that's not very hard to believe. I always knew you guys had a thing for each other, I just never thought you'd admit it."

Both of their faces turned a lovely puce shade, and they looked away from each other. Neither was looking at anything in particular and they seemed to be thinking about what to say next.

"Yeah, that's the Danny and Sam I know. But I have to admit, you two...? You two having a baby? Wow. That came as a surprise," he added.

Danny gave Sam a very quick look.

She knew what it meant and honestly, it would be easier to get through this pregnancy and probably the rest of her high school days with one more person knowing she had been r- ...Hurt. It would be easier if someone else knew that she had been hurt and that the dad would hopefully never be seen again.

On top of that, Tucker would eventually find out that Danny wasn't the father because she didn't have that kind of relationship with him. They were friends and nothing more. Certainly nothing less, but definitely nothing more. It was for the better, though, because right after being hurt, she wasn't exactly looking for a relationship. Then she had been attacked again and _fwish!_ Friendship was perfect as it was. Any further relationship would be something she wouldn't be able to handle and she knew it.

She finally responded with a nod of her head. Now that he had the permission to end this, he turned his attention to Tucker and corrected their mistake with, "Uh, Tucker, I'm not really the dad."

The geek stopped chewing his food for a second to make room for his confused look, then asked, "Well then who is?" through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"Well, it's just what we agreed on telling people. I-It's not really like that, though. See, Sam was—" he let his voice linger a bit when he saw his female friend grimace. "—walking down a path to her house when she was—" he stopped again when she got up and left to avoid the inevitable answer. This was an extremely touchy subject for her. No wonder she didn't want anyone, especially her parents, to know. She didn't want them acting like it was a huge deal and reminding her constantly that she had been assaulted by some unknown sex offender.

He waited until she was well out of earshot before finally spitting it out, "Sam was walking home three weeks ago and got pounced by a man she didn't know. She escaped, but only after he...you know, did some damage..."

The poor geek's eyes seemed to bulge out of his head and he nearly choked on his food. "Sam was raped? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He looked over at Sam, who was at an entirely different table with almost no one in it. "And here I thought she was sick... I-I never would've imagined... I wish I was there so I could've stopped it..."

"You dunno the half of it..." Danny muttered, remembering how she'd called out for him numerous times and he hadn't been there to hear her.

Tucker's eyes widened as a new thought dawned on him. "But then if she was raped, that means the kid belongs to..." he allowed his voice to trail off.

The halfa nodded and yelled to Sam that she could come back now, which she took her time doing. He knew why this was; she wanted to make sure there was nothing left to be said. He turned back to Tucker once she reached their table. "But Sam doesn't want anyone to know about her pregnancy until she's ready. So don't tell anyone."

Tucker immediately shook his head. "I won't tell." He turned to Sam with sad eyes and said, "Sam, I just wanna say I'm sorry. I-I wish I'd known... I could've helped..."

She acted like she didn't care, even though she was a wreck inside. "Same thing Danny told me." With those words, she looked in the spoken character's direction. Her expression was completely unreadable and neither boy could tell what she was thinking, but dared not ask.

In an effort to break the silence and bring life back to what was now dead, Tucker suggested they do something later in the day.

"Like what?" the hybrid asked.

"Uh...how about movies?" he gave.

"Is there anything _good_ out?" Sam countered.

"I dunno. I can use my PDA to check. It'll only be a second," he stated proudly. He talked like he was so proud of himself every time he spoke of technology. It was almost humorous. Scratch that, it _was_ humorous. He was the only one in the history of the school to know that much about technology. "Nope. Nothing we're old enough to watch, anyway."

"Remember that one Dreamworks movie? That one about the horses? It had this mustang stallion as the main character and this Indian mare as the love interest," Sam described.

"You mean the one you forced us to watch? Spirit?" Danny suggested.

"Yeah, Spirit! That's the one. I remember when I was little, on the day my parents took me to see that movie, I stole several bird eggs and a chick and I snuck them inside the house. I wanted to raise them myself because they were just so cute. But when I got back from the movie theatre, I found they'd died and I was heartbroken. I was so small I didn't understand life and death, but when I saw the chick stiff and still and the eggs really cold, I think it was then that I actually knew what it meant. I remember trying to get the chick, at least, to move and chirp, but it didn't. I think then I realized I wouldn't be able to get it back and it wouldn't chirp or be cute ever again," she recalled.

"You were sad over a baby bird and some eggs?" It was actually more of a statement than a question, but the boys never really understood their friend's animal-saving craze.

"Well, they were lives. Even though I was small, I knew that. So when they died...that's the first time I'd actually comprehended what death was," she retorted.

"What does that have to do with going to the movies?" they asked simultaneously.

"Nothing, but I wanted a change of subject, so I brought up a little portion of my past," she said.

Now Danny knew what it was she was actually trying to do. She was trying to steer them _completely_ clear of the topic they'd just been on not too long ago, her pregnancy. It was deeply connected with her rape, and she had made it clear that she didn't like talking or hearing about it. The whole pregnancy thing and people feeling bad for her was just a reminder. And she didn't want to remember any of it. He didn't blame her. Remembering something was simply reliving it. No one would want to relive a moment like that. But he was positive it was on her mind every day, despite her unwillingness to recall the incident.

Tucker seemed to realize the same thing and said, with a hidden hint of sorrow in his voice, "That's understandable."

She caught that whiff of sadness, and probably hated it being there. It would be so much easier if she could just forget. If this whole ordeal was a nightmare. But she knew that even if it was a nightmare, she'd still remember it.

The thought of what was most definitely on the boys' mind crept into her head. "I'll tell them tonight."

"Them?" the halfa asked.

"My parents," she clarified.

**A/N **

**So then... Yay...? I still can't believe the number of reviews. This story is already in the top thirty most reviewed story...and it's only got 7 chapters! the original version ended with 33 chapters and got 630 reviews exactly. I'm starting to think I struck it at the right time with this rewritten story. Either that or I'm hallucinating. I'm not hallucinating am I?**

**No review quota. There will not be a review quota throughout the rest of this story. **

**As for review replies... I'm sorry, everyone, but OVER 100 reviews per chapter? It'll take me a month to do all that! :( I'm sorry if I let anyone down. I do read your reviews though, and I do appreciate them very much. :) Rewriting this story has to be harder than when I was still writing it. lol I can't change directions and now everything has to be very strict as I write so I won't stray from the storyline and confuse people. **

**So updates may take longer than intended. BUT, this one was pretty good, right?**


	8. Chapter 8

~Chapter 8~

Sam stopped just inches from the doorknob. Well, stopping was an understatement. She was just hesitating. Telling her parents... How would one do that, exactly? They were so incapable of handling that kind of knowledge. And Danny would be toast if her dad started to rage out of control. But she had to tell them before she started to show; she had to tell them now.

Danny lost his invisibility and floated right beside his friend. "What's up, Sam?"

She knew he'd been following her home. In fact, she'd asked him personally to do that. That rapist knew where she lived; not a good thing and definitely not a comforting thought. So she'd hoped that if Danny was with her, he could ward off any such danger.

And he almost seemed happy to follow her home. She knew he felt guilty about failing to protect her but he really didn't need to make anything up to her. He didn't know and it wasn't his fault. Of course, this was also Danny and he wouldn't believe her if she told him that—no matter how many times she did.

The knob turned and the halfa transformed back into his human self. Now it was regular ole Danny verses the Fearsome Father. And to think she had no clue how her mom was going to react to such news...

Both the teens went inside to be greeted by a butler.

"Hello, Miss Manson. Hello, Mister Fenton. How may I help you?" he said with a deep, very butler-esque voice. He was dressed in a tuxedo and usually stood by the door around this time, waiting for Sam's return from school.

"Actually, yeah. Are Mom and Dad home?" she asked.

"Yes, they're in the main room," he replied.

Sam thanked him and headed down a long hallway filled with murals into the main room. This room had a big plasma screen TV with HD. Loads of movies were neatly stacked on ebony shelves right beside it. A huge, long couch was in front of them and there were two love seats on the sides, forming a nice little box. In the center of this box was a round brown coffee table with some salted nuts in bowl on its surface right in the center. And there were her parents sitting right beside each other, watching a documentary on a city's mint.

"Mom, Dad," Sam called, turning their attention to her and Danny.

"Oh, hello, Samantha. Welcome home," her mother greeted.

"I...I have some big news to tell you guys," she started.

As Sam prepared to reach the real topic by stalling and talking about a bunch of filler sentences, the hybrid braced himself for what would happen when she finally decided to tell them that he was the father even though he obviously wasn't. It was surprising that no one ever questioned that. Had anyone who knew them ever seen them kiss or touch each other before? No; because they really hadn't unless ghosts got involved.

"Samantha, please stop babbling. What was the news you were going to tell us?" her mother's kind voice sang.

The goth sighed. How did they do this even in the movies? "I-I'm..." She lowered her voice dramatically so they wouldn't hear her, "...pregnant."

"What was that, dear?" her father said. Well, they hadn't heard her and now she had to repeat it...

"You know how I've been sick this past week?" she started. Not waiting for a reply, she decided to just spill it all out at once and get it over with, "I'm pregnant and Danny's the dad." She was so quick in her words that her parents looked startled at first as they let what had been said sink in.

Both their eyes turned to the halfbreed when they finally registered what their daughter had told them.

"You knocked up my daughter!" Mr. Manson screamed, breaking the awkward silence.

Danny shivered at that thought, but didn't respond. He was just there for moral support for Sam; he had no intentions of dying today. So instead he stayed still. Bad idea. Her dad grabbed the collar of his shirt and lifted him off the ground.

This was where Sam stepped in. "Dad, no!" She slapped at her father's hand.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't send him into oblivion!" he demanded.

"Because...B-Because..." She had to think of an excuse. And fast, before something bad happened to Danny. "I love him!" she blurted.

Her and the halfa's face lit up with a nice little tint.

"So it was your choice?" her father asked as he put Danny down.

Sam nodded, still blushing. She knew what her father meant by 'it'.

"You...willingly...?"

Again, a nod.

"Fenton, get out of here. I never want to see you again," her dad ordered, face turning a furious rose color.

Danny wasted no time in doing exactly what Mr. Manson told him to. He'd wanted to get out anyway. Such a situation with such a father wasn't precisely a place where he would belong. But his thoughts were somewhat...elsewhere. Had Sam meant what she said when she told her dad she loved him? The sentence itself made his heart soar, and he felt on top of the world when he looked back on it. But what if it was just an excuse? What if she'd said that only to protect him from her father's wrath?

* * *

"But, Dad, you can't do this to me!" Sam was pleading. Tears lined her face with salty wetness and her mascara was beginning to run, forming lines of black that outlined the watery trails. It was so obvious that something had upset her. Even the dumbest, most ignorant idiot on the face of the Earth could figure that much out.

"Samantha Manson! You are not to argue with me! I will never condone such a horrendous activity!" her dad screamed at her. His face was just the opposite of his daughter's. It was clear he was infuriated with her. There was a dash of disgust wiped on his expression, and it was only deepening with each word his little girl said.

"But you're my parents!" she countered as she tried vainly to scrub off her waterfall of tears.

"And that's how we know you've grown up! You decided that the moment that Fenton kid saw you naked!" he retorted, his anger seeming to override his senses. But that kind of thing never happened to her dad. He'd always maintained reason, even when this emotional state came upon him.

She was far too upset to blush at the comment, despite its untruthfulness. "But...I've always been your little girl, remember?"

"And when your child has sex for the first time, then you'll know exactly how we feel!" With these final words, her dad pointed sternly towards the door. She was to leave. Now.

The goth turned her back to her father and moved slowly towards the front door, wondering if Danny was still there or if he'd left. The butler that had greeted her stood firmly with a sad expression. At least someone felt sympathy for what happened to her.

"I...I'm so sorry, Miss Manson... If there's ever anything you need, I would be honored to help you," he offered.

She cracked a sad smile as she passed him. Sam let her hair fall over her face to hide her crying soul from anyone who might be watching. It was only before she opened the door that she wondered how much more torture she could endure before she was finally broken.

She exited her house for the last time. Danny wasn't there. Must've gone home... She knew that once she stepped off the last doorstep, she would no longer be accepted back into her home. And her family was already off-limits. All because of this God-forsaken baby. All because of this little thing that grew inside her, gathering up nutrients to grow and become human. Her eyes narrowed at the thought of it just being there, and she allowed her rage towards it to grow.

All the while she hadn't even noticed when it started to rain. Her thoughts were focused negatively on her baby. The one she never wanted. The one forced upon her. The one that seemed to belong to someone else. And the one that she wanted to strangle, to take out her anger on. Thankfully, it had the protection of her belly and was probably too small to have a head yet.

Rain slid off her hair and skin for a while, but as the relentless storm continued, she went from dappled to drenched. Rain poured off her head and soaked her clothes even worse than they already were. Her shirt got baggy and her skirt was beginning to hang a little lower than normal. Even her underwear was getting wet. Uncomfortable, yes, but she didn't even care. In fact, the only thing that could make it worse would be—

"Well, well, well. If it isn't my former acquaintance. Miss me?" a deep voice growled.

She turned her eyes to meet the man's. He was wearing a black ski mask, which made it impossible to see his identity. But through the slits his eyes showed well that he meant only bad intentions. He had before, and he would now. At first, it was the same feeling; she didn't care what he did to her. After all, she'd just been disowned by her parents thanks to his baby. What more could he take from her? But when he started to advance with speed that belied his size, she got caught by his arms and found that he'd somehow managed to tie a long cloth around her head, gagging her. It was so tight, she couldn't get it off. And it hurt.

"Relax, and this time it'll be much easier for the both of us," he purred threateningly.

She tried to scream, but the cloth had caused her tongue to fold up into the back of her mouth, rendering her unable to produce a sound. This, probably more than anything, scared her. Danny would never hear her call for help if she didn't make any noise to warn him. And she'd rather have him rescue her than the police. Police tended to be morons at times and she wouldn't have the patience to put up with that.

The man grabbed her arms and pulled them behind her before she had the chance to run. He held her wrists tightly with one hand used the other to yank her head up by her hair, causing her to wince and squirm. "What are you gonna do? You're too weak to defend yourself. Your friend isn't coming to rescue you. And you're all alone," the man taunted, apparently wishing as much pain on her as possible.

She narrowed her eyes even further to show him her discomfort and anger.

He was nearly wordless after that. Instead, it seemed he wanted to get right down to business. He hastily dragged her behind the dark space in between her house and the one next to hers, her neighbor's house. The space was basically just a tight alley, but it was more obscure than ones seen in movies. A nearby dumpster almost kept the two from entering, but the man and his cargo squeezed through it. Sam realized that this was where it would happen—in a place Danny wouldn't likely find. The dumpster they had passed would shroud the view of the entire scene, while the gag kept her from making a racket. He'd planned this out thoroughly.

The man pressed her down to the ground with her back facing upward. He sat on her, effectively preventing her from getting up, and took his hand off her hair to pull out another cloth and tie it painfully around her wrists. She couldn't break free of the tight makeshift handcuffs. The cloth was too strong and it was tied in knots that were far more complicated than a simple shoelace-tie. Plus, this knot was done not once, but three times!

She turned her head to glare at him, being as it was all she could do at the time. What did he plan on doing with her? Kill her? Rape her again? If he planned to kill her, he would've done it sooner. If he planned to rape her for the second time, how would he get her clothes off with her limbs tied up like this? This question answered itself. He pulled out a knife and held it close to her neck.

She closed her eyes so she wouldn't see it coming, but when nothing happened, she opened her eyes again. He was using the knife to cut off her shirt from the collar down. Did this mean she would have to suffer the pain all over again? Most likely. She was turned over without warning and he continued slicing through fabric. All she could do was watch and wait for it all to end. She didn't dare move or squirm for fear of the blade accidentally stabbing her.

After what seemed like forever, he cut off her shirt and skirt, leaving her with nothing but her undergarments on. These didn't take anywhere near as long to cut off. The sadistic man threw aside the knife and mounted the girl. She closed her eyes as tightly as she could and only listened to the sounds before her own muffled voice: harsh breathing, the downpour of the rain, a zipper being unzipped... And then her screams being muffled by the gag. What little noise she managed to make was drowned out by the downpour.

All she could feel was the pain. The ground scraping her back didn't hurt, the sting of the cold rain didn't faze her, and the freezing winds of the storm didn't chill her. The only thing she felt was the horrible pain that seemed to be trying to kill her. She was sure that any second now would be the second she broke in half.

* * *

For the tenth time, Danny checked his phone. He'd hightailed it out when Sam's dad had told him to leave. But something was wrong. Shouldn't their family spat be over with by now? Sure, it was a big thing, but still... And Sam still hadn't called him to tell him how things turned out. Was she still too upset? Or maybe she was just mad at her parents. It could be that she was mad at him for leaving when he did. Maybe she'd expected him to stay there.

He morphed into a ghost and flew out, telling himself he only wanted to make sure Sam was okay. His heart told him differently. It told him something was happening, something he couldn't stop. It told him Sam was in trouble. It told him he needed to get to her. His mind wholeheartedly agreed.

The rain didn't help. It was so bad that he could hardly see three feet in front of himself. He could vaguely make out the outlines of buildings and cars, but there was absolutely no detail. He couldn't see the windows on the buildings or the mirrors on the cars. He couldn't tell what color they were or if they were brick or wooden. But he told himself it didn't matter, that Sam was his only priority, and kept pushing through with immense difficulty.

After what he assumed to be an hour, much too long for his comfort, he found his way to the individualist's house. But her bedroom lights weren't on... Why would that be when it was so dark out already? He flew down from her window to the front door and phased through it. Inside was different. Her parents could be heard having a heated and definitely serious conversation somewhere in the mansion, but Sam was nowhere to be found. He knew this because he carefully scanned every room before exiting the building. Where was she? Surely she wasn't out in this storm. No matter how upset someone got, they should have the logic to stay inside during such horrible weather as this.

A lightning bolt crackled with electricity, and thunder soon boomed after. The entire sky lit up with nature's light show, scaring most little kids and even some adults within their homes. Others were just annoyed at their satellite going out.

Danny wasn't distracted by this. He kept up his search. Since he was nearsighted in this weather, he had to search pretty close to the ground. The lightning allowed some view, but in a split-second time frame. The rain still blocked most of everything, though, even with its help; and the winds were probably just as bad. It pushed the stinging rain in his face.

He searched close to the grass on her lawn, but didn't find anything. Not a hint, not a clue...nothing. He didn't pay attention as his hair and jumpsuit got wetter by the minute; if Sam was in this storm, she had to be suffering cruelly right now. Besides, he couldn't just abandon her. Not again. Not after what happened the last time he failed to hear her cries for help. Yes, he still blamed himself for that. He would much rather it have been him, but being able to feel her pain and comprehend it was impossible.

He was right about to leave the area, right about to search elsewhere, when he spied a darker, more hidden place. It looked like an alley, but he'd never noticed it before. He'd never even known it was there. The downpour shrouded its presence from his earlier attempts to find Sam, but maybe she had taken refuge here. But that couldn't be right... Why wouldn't she have stayed inside her house?

He decided it was worth a shot and floated over to the dark spot. It was just barely visible through the heavy rain, but it was definitely there and not a trick of his own worried imagination.

He bumped into a dumpster, not knowing it was there, and proceeded to squeeze through the small entryway that it created. This might actually be a good place to look. Sam was so skinny; she could probably fit through here very easily.

As he went on, however, he became a little disheartened that he would find Sam here, of all places. The heavy rainfall made it extremely hard to see anything. He put a hand over his line of sight, right above his eyes, and tried to see more clearly. No good.

He took two more steps and stopped to look down. Not a moment too soon, either. One more step and he would've trampled the very person he was looking for.

"Sam...?" he breathed.

He bent down to inspect her more closely. It was definitely Sam. Her clothes were carelessly tossed to the side and she was left nude. Her hair was so wet that several strands of it stuck together, forming large, soaked clumps. Her mouth was gagged with a cloth that was, he figured, tied around the back of her head. Her arms were under her back, pushing her stomach up slightly. Blood trickled from a wound somewhere on her head. That would explain why she was unconscious.

He looked closer, not yet acknowledging the fact that she was naked. She was breathing; she was alive.

The specter looked to her clothes. They had been cut off. It was impossible for them to cover anything on her. Even her bra, which was black and had lacing on the cups, had been cut straight down the middle. Everything just lay there, sopping wet and torn. How was he going to fly her over the city when she was exposed like this? Oh, right. Duh. He had invisibility on his side.

He put one arm beneath her shoulders and another beneath her knees and stood up. Her head lolled back—she was out cold. Fury filled him at that point, and he roared out his anger. It wasn't just anger he felt, but a spectrum of emotions. Fury, sorrow, pain, frustration...the list went on.

The ghost lowered his head and nuzzled her neck. "I'm so sorry, Sam..." he whispered as he cried into her.

He turned invisible and flew back to his house, cradling the goth tenderly in his arms.

**A/N**

**Please don't kill me.**

**...**

**Please don't.**

**I'm going on vacation for seven days and my laptop won't be brought with me. So the next update will be slower.**


	9. Chapter 9

~Chapter 9~

Already enraged from what he'd just seen, and from what he was looking at now, Danny Fenton struggled with the knife. When was his mother going to buy some new scissors? The ones they currently had were broken. But the cloth that bound his most precious friend was strong; maybe too strong for him to break. Yes, she was still unconscious. Thank you, God, for that. She was still naked, and he had no way of putting any clothes on her until he could get this stupid binding off her hands! He would've chosen her face first, but her hands were bound so tightly that they were turning blue from lack of circulation.

He clenched the knife in his teeth and attempted for the _seventh_ time to untie the first knot. But the stubborn thing wouldn't budge, let alone come loose. He knew this was bad; he had to get her under some covers or into some clothes. Any warmth would be good right now. But he blushed too hotly at the thought of him snuggling up against her while she was 'o-natural'. She was still soaking wet, making it harder for him to keep looking at her without constantly averting his eyes. Her temperature was dropping by the minute, and he knew that he needed to cut the cloth off her wrists before he could get her under the covers. Thankfully, she was already on the bed. Unfortunately, she was naked and wet on _his_ bed.

He'd thought about using a small ghost ray to just blast it off her, but he couldn't risk hurting her in the process—she meant way too much to him. Tucker, maybe as a last resort, but Sam? NEVER! Hurting her was like hurting his soul! He felt pain with her, he laughed with her, he helped her. But then...he really hadn't helped her. Because—again—he wasn't there, she now lay unconscious on his bed. And he knew exactly what had happened to her. Because he wasn't there, she'd been raped. Again.

He managed to cut a small rip in the cloth, made stronger and slipperier by the rain. The hybrid was instantly brought back to Earth by this achievement and brief sense of victory passed through his mind. One rip was all it needed to come clean off. But it would still take a while.

The goth groaned, just now coming to. Her head was throbbing, but when she tried to reach a hand up to touch the ailing spot, nothing happened. Her eyes shot open. Was she still in the alley between her and her neighbor's houses? No. She was on Danny's bed. Why? How had she gotten here? A sharp tug on her arms caused her to glance over her shoulder. Danny was cursing at himself under his breath as he tried to free her from her shackles little by little—something about 'why hadn't he known' and something else about 'if only he'd been there earlier'. And many similar things like that.

A shiver ran up and down her spine when she finally realized she was completely exposed. Not a single piece of clothing covered her. But the strangest thing was...she didn't care. As long as it was Danny seeing her like this and no one else, she didn't care. Not that she _wanted_ to show herself to him, but she wasn't entirely opposed to the idea. However, it wasn't because she liked him that much. Something in her...had changed. During the second rape, something inside her had snapped. The world suddenly meant nothing to her. She was alone, stranded in a desolate place where shadows of her past life lingered, but were long gone. Memories flooded back to her. Her parents kicking her out. The man talking. Being raped for a second time by the same person.

Danny had found her. It wasn't his fault. It was hers. She was so stupid to stay in one place. She should have gone to him for help when she had the chance, but instead she chose to stay put, practically begging to suffer once more. Had she not learned the first time? Men were dangerous, and though she didn't think of Danny that way, it was the truth. Dash, Tucker, even Danny... They all had the power to hurt her if they chose. She knew the halfa would never even consider it, but how could she be so sure about any other guy? There was one surefire way of ensuring she could never feel that pain again.

"Danny..." she moaned. No, this wasn't wallowing in self-pity. If anything this was just to know someone was actually there—actually _real_. And although she knew what she'd said wasn't really 'Danny'—thanks to the gag still on her face, she also knew her voice would reach him. Her sole intent was to let him know she'd woken.

He stopped what he was doing to try to pull the cloth off her hands, or her hands out of the cloth. He grunted a quick, "Oh, you're up."

Though her body was suffering enormous amounts of pain from her already-numb hands and the force of pressure being put on her arms, it was as if her soul couldn't feel a thing.

He threw the knife across the floor in frustration and tried to bite down on the cloth to tear it, if slicing wouldn't work. Needless to say, that didn't work at all. He picked up the knife and began sawing away at the impossible piece of cloth. "This is really hard to do; sorry for any pain."

She shook her head. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't his fault. It was all her fault. It was all her fault. It was all her fault. _"You're all alone."_ the man's voice echoed through her head. Was she really all alone? No one else seemed to be hurting like she was. She was all alone.

This pain was unrecognizable to the poor girl. She no longer had a sense of reason, only confusion. Which way was the right way? What should she do next? Would she ever escape this kind of horrible nightmare? Or would her nightmare remain a reality forever?

Danny finally cut the last shreds of cloth away and managed to dislodge her wrists from them. He sighed in relief that he'd been able to save her hands from amputation, but groaned with the thought that now there was her face to do. He propped Sam up and made sure her back was facing him. As he'd earlier suspected, the cloth was tied behind her head, in the same knot that was done on her hands. But thankfully, this piece of cloth had only one hard knot, and not three of them. "I'm going to have to cut it off; try to stay still."

Who cared if she was accidentally stabbed to death? Cinderella and Snow White and Rapunzel and even Sleeping Beauty all had happy endings. But the way things were going, it didn't look like she was going to have one. Not every girl, she realized, had a knight in shining armor.

Her head abruptly jerked back and she realized it as being a non-benevolent side effect of the blade Danny wielded. Maybe he was her knight... _"You're all alone."_ the voice told her. He'd said that each time he'd raped her. _"You're all alone."_ And she would always be alone. How many other girls had to deal with being twice raped? None of them. After the first time, the men were either caught or they left the girl alone. Nuh-uh, not her. Her guy was still at large; still preying on the innocent. Still targeting her.

The halfa cut through the last few strands of fabric, taking some of Sam's wet hair out with it. He held up the cloth pieces and showed them to her. "You're free at last," he muttered with hints of regret in the undertones of his voice.

She closed her mouth for the first time in too long. Then she rubbed her wrists and stood up, still very aware of her nudity. But she still didn't care. "Thanks, Danny." Wow, talking was like an entirely new experience. She had just gone from not being able to make a sound to verbalizing whatever it was she felt like saying.

The hybrid looked down and blinked away tears. "I don't blame you if you're mad," he choked out in a strained, tight voice. He was mad at himself.

"I'm not mad. I'm fine." Hurting and sore in places no girl should ever be sore and definitely not fine. But also not blaming him in any way.

He rummaged around in his closet until he found a shirt he assumed would be big enough for her to wear. It was a little large on him, so it should cover enough on her. He handed her the shirt and tossed her pair of jeans. He didn't have any that were too small for him, so he expected it not to fit her very well. "It's all I have right now."

She tried on the shirt first and it hung down to her lower thighs. The short sleeves showed a little bit of side cleavage, but as long as she kept her arms a certain way it would be fine. The pants were different, however—they kept falling down and she was sure that not even Danny's belts would help her. It was a good thing the shirt covered her lower areas. "Thanks."

He literally lapped in the sight of her with his shirt on. That shirt was way too big for her, and it covered just barely enough to be legal. And it was his, which made her all the more attractive. She looked just too darn cute in that thing! "It'll have to do," he told her, trying to hold his thoughts at bay and trying not to let his blush show. He cleared his throat and continued, "You should probably get under the covers—you need to rest after...what happened."

"I've gotten plenty," she combated.

He was tempted to, at the very least, give her a hug. Maybe that would've led to a kiss. But now wasn't the time or place. Besides, what right did he have to be with her? He'd promised to protect her. He'd failed miserably. Plus, it was likely for her to find someone else, someone who could offer her more than him. His mind growled at the thought of another male offering her _anything_.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, ignoring the baying dogs in his mind.

Actually, she was a little sick at her stomach right now, but she didn't want to turn down his hospitality even in light of...being hurt again. "A little bit."

Wait, spoke too soon... She put a hand on her stomach and breathed deeply.

The halfbreed seemed to know what this meant and pointed toward the bathroom, only to have her shake her head. It was only when she thought it may be too late to reach the bathroom that she rushed to it. And she just barely made it, too. In just moments gagging and a splattering sound could be heard.

Throwing up had to be the worst feeling in the world. You never knew when you were actually going to stop and your throat burned every time. All the while, you couldn't take a drink because you would just puke it back up. And so your throat continued to burn, as well as your stomach. And then there were your eyes, which would produce tears solely to blur your vision. It was as though your whole body was punishing you for all those fast-food restaurants.

Danny went in and held her hair back from her face. Lots of other guys, he knew, would be grossed out by this. But Sam was his friend; he needed to be there for her. Besides, it's not like she could help it. And she probably didn't like having to put up with it. It wasn't her fault, nothing had been. If anything, it was his fault for not coming to her aid the first time. And then there was the second time... Surely she must hate him by now.

"Sam, if you weren't feeling well, you could've just told me," he said softly. Last thing he wanted was to upset her, especially after what happened.

She weakly lifted her head and thanked him for holding her back. Her mother used to do this when she was little. She used to get sick often, usually ill at her stomach. Her mother had always pulled her hair into a ponytail and rubbed her back. But that was long ago, before she was a teenager. Before she'd been raped. Before she'd gotten pregnant. Before they'd kicked her out. Before everything bad had happened.

Danny didn't have a hair band, so he took one hand and clamped it around the base of her hair to form a makeshift one. His other hand caressed her back, trying to ease the burning sensation that came with throwing up.

But even hung over the toilet, she tensed noticeably under his touch. It hurt him to know he'd just caused her that much discomfort and probably even scared her. He took his hand off but kept one hand around her hair, which thankfully she didn't seem to mind. She stayed tensed up the entire time Danny was in a small space with her.

After several minutes, she stopped. Everything she'd eaten from earlier that day now lay upchucked in the toilet. She reached up and flushed it, embarrassed that Danny had to see that. Before she had time to grab some toilet paper, the nearest thing to clean the rims of the seat with, Danny gently pulled her up and led her into his room, where he forced her to lay on the bed. It wasn't in a lustful way, not like that man had pushed her onto the ground or against the side of a building, but it was in a caring way. He pulled the covers over her and told her she needed to get some rest, that she needed it more than she thought.

"I'm fine, Danny. Really, I am," she insisted.

He smiled tenderly and let an emotion he knew she wouldn't understand surface in his eyes. She would know what this was later on, but for now he decided it was best to let her wonder. "I just want to make sure."

A tint clouded her face and she rolled over. It didn't take very long for her to fall asleep—she was fatigued as it was.

The halfa kept his smile as he watched her sleep. Minutes went by, and then hours. And then Jazz came in, snapping him back from his trance-like state.

"Danny, are you gonna—" she stopped when she saw Sam resting. "Uh, what's she doing here? I thought she was at her house."

He turned his head to face his sister and answered, "She just came by to copy some notes. Then she got tired so I told her she could sleep here for a while."

"But this is your room and— Never mind... I probably don't even want to know," she said, waving her hand dismissively.

"It shouldn't come as a shock to you; she's pregnant," he reminded his older sibling.

"Yeah, it's hard to forget that. It's yours, remember?" she returned.

"How did you think I'd forget that?" Before she could reply, he pushed her back out the door to his room. "She needs her rest."

This comment had almost too much truth to it. No one who was expecting should be put through that much stress in one week. And though Jazz didn't know over half of what happened to her, Danny knew and hated it—hated it with a passion. And it wasn't just for someone pregnant, but anyone period! Sam had been put through pure torture, and anyone who was Danny or Sam would know that.

He returned to his position prior to Jazz's appearance. Another bullet dodged, he was now content just to sit and keep an eye on her. The whole time she was sleeping was filled with memories of the good times, before this chain of bad events occurred. Ghost-hunting, the Nasty Burger, payback on Dash, and those few moments of romance they'd had. But it was so strange that they never admitted their feelings. Maybe it was him; girls liked it better when guys made the advances. Maybe he was just too shy. True, he'd seen her nude, but at what cost? The closest they'd come to love was holding hands; what kind of relationship was that?

He'd actually planned several times to tell her how he felt, but he would never come around to actually doing it. Why? Why did it have to stay such a secret? He'd already pictured Sam and him kissing in the halls of the school with no one sneering because they knew they were an item. He'd imagined what her lips tasted and felt like. The halfa thought they would taste like whatever lip gloss she wore and felt smooth. Why couldn't that have happened? It had to be him; he was too timid around her.

That moment, the halfa resolved to start making more..._bold_ advances toward her. And then he would gather up as much courage as he could and tell her how he felt, even though she would probably have figured it out by then. No matter; he needed to tell her not just for her, but for himself as well. He was determined to establish some kind of beyond-friendship relationship with her.

**A/N**

**Well, I really hope this makes up for time lost. I also hope you liked the chapter. :) And yes, I'm aware of how creepy and/or weird it is that Danny is sitting there watching Sam sleep. XD**

**But you have to admit, he was really sweet.**

**Oh, and no matter the number of reviews, reviews are always, ALWAYS appreciated. They give me drive to to move forward with my stories. :) So please review and tell me what you think. As I've said before I'm also adding new chapters so if any of you have an idea or just something you want to say/mention, please review. **

**I always read my reviews and I'm so glad this many people support this little story here.**


	10. Chapter 10

~Chapter 10~

Sam had slept through the entire night. The storm hadn't completely gone away yet; the rain and lightning still lingered around. But the downpour had stopped. No, it wasn't a light drizzle, but it was finally just regular rain. Regular rain alongside a thunderstorm. Perfect weather for walking to school in.

The goth was wearing her usual clothes instead of Danny's shirt; Danny had gone out to get them from her house last night. He'd taken the liberty of morphing into Danny Phantom and avoiding any contact with her parents. But Sam hadn't yet told him she'd been kicked out. She honestly didn't know _how_ to tell him. You see lots of movies and read lots of books, but they're fairytales. The truth was always much harder to accept. Boy, if only this was a movie, where she was simply acting it all out.

Today had to be even worse for Sam. The girl could hardly walk! Smack in between her legs was excruciatingly sore. Last time, she'd gotten away on her own, but this time, the man hadn't allowed that to happen and made sure he did the damage thoroughly. Now the pain was almost crippling.

The halfa seemed to sense something was wrong and asked her daringly what was wrong. It was daring because he didn't know if it was something that would upset her or relieve her to talk about.

Sam turned her head and smiled at him, telling him she was fine and that it was nothing to worry about.

"Hey, guys! What's up?" a familiar geek's voice greeted them at the school's entrance.

"Nothing," they both said simultaneously.

The friends got into a conversation that lasted for only about five minutes before the bell rang loudly and clearly. The usual routine happened, with no incidents from Sam's pregnancy. That's right, no fainting or vomiting or cravings. Hallelujah! In fact, the only problem was sitting down in those ancient torture devices called 'desks'. Certain areas on the individualist wouldn't allow her to sit properly without a painful complaint. So she'd had to adjust to sitting slightly tilted. Possible, yes; comfortable, no.

Danny and Tucker were already outside waiting for their friend when the last bell of the day rang. They'd just gotten out of study hall and the halfbreed had decided to pull Tucker outside to talk to him about Sam.

"Alright, what's going on? You don't just drag someone away from the rest of society for nothing," Tucker whined.

The hybrid thought quietly for a second, pondering how to ask his friend for such advice. Oh, wait! Duh, the old 'I have a friend who...' tactic. "I have a friend who's trying to get this girl. But he doesn't know what to do. He's really shy around her, and he doesn't know whether or not she likes him back. I need some advice for him."

A smirk grew wide on the geek's face. "And...who might this friend be?"

Think, think... "He's, uh...a pen pal who lives in...Sri Lanka. And he's really nice—"

"What's his name?"

"Arnold," he said, verbalizing the first random male name to come to his mind. "His name is Arnold. He moved to Sri Lanka from...uh, Alaska," he lied. This wasn't turning out how he'd expected. Ah, well. Playing it smooth never counted, it was playing it out that sealed the deal.

"And what's this girl like?" the techno-geek continued, knowing this card all too well. The nerds in school always used this trick, and thus it became easily recognizable and as old as daylight.

"Oh, you know...she's independent. Um, strong-willed. She's a goth. Looks cute when she wears a shirt that's too big for her," Danny described, lightly blushing at the memory of Sam in his oversized shirt.

The grin only grew wider. "It's you and Sam, isn't it?"

The halfa's face paled. "What? No! Of course not! What makes you even so much as _think_... I mean, I don't know what you're talking about! That can't possibly be me and Sam! We're just friends! I-I mean, we're opposite genders but you know, that's not really the point because it's pretty clear we don't like each other that way and there's nothing wrong with it because we've been friends forever and something like that would ruin our friendship anyway so of course it's not me and her, it's like the natural laws of physics or relationships things or whatever, so it's really stupid to think it's us because this is just about Arnold and that girl I was talking about that he liked which is why it'll be really bad if that girl is Sam and that Arnold guy is me because he's my pen pal and definitely not me since I'm right here and you know, he lives all the way in Sri Lanka which obviously makes it impossible for the girl to be Sam because then Sam would have to live in Sri Lanka and she doesn't because we've been to her house before and it's not from Sri Lanka unless you can import mansions nowadays which I highly doubt you can so again, it's not Sam and me!" Yeah, it hadn't played out, either, had it?

Tucker slapped his forehead. "Okay, okay. So, about this friend... The girl sounds a lot like Sam, and Arnold sounds a lot like you. Maybe Arnold needs to let her know he's into her."

"How?" Danny asked.

"I dunno. Maybe he would meet her in secret places. Girls love that romantic stuff. But, honestly, each girl is different. Some like to be given a heart-shaped box of chocolates, while others like expensive jewelry. And then some don't like getting all those presents. Some just like knowing the guy is there for them. With you— I mean, Arnold, I would suggest just asking her out first," he said.

The hybrid thanked his friend and waited for Sam's appearance.

It had to be at least five or ten more minutes before she showed up at the entrance of Casper High. She had to look way better than she felt. Her lower areas were still sore—and probably would be for some while—and she had become aware of a tightness in her abdomen sometime in the middle of the day. What would come next? Those huge maternity pants? Lower back pain? Swollen ankles? Or D, all of the above? She figured it would most likely be D, all of the above.

"Hey, Sam!" her friends called for her when she was in hearing range. Hearing range during the end of the day was about five feet away from the person speaking. This was because in all the insanity that was high school, you couldn't hear much over all those cheerleaders cheering and football players playing. Let's not forget the other voices, like the art class debating on what to paint next. Such things like that were just annoying.

She walked up to them, trying to hide the soreness she felt while moving her legs. "Hey, guys."

"Danny has something he wants to ask you," Tucker said, holding back the bubbly laughter. In his mind, he was just happy Danny was finally taking the initiative. He took a step back, wanting to listen in but also wanting to give them a little bit of privacy.

The goth turned her attentions toward Danny and awaited his question.

The halfa felt himself grow nervous and took a deep breath to calm himself down. Last thing he wanted was to have a nervous breakdown in front of her.

"Uh, I was just wondering if...you wanted to...you know..." Was this a good time to ask her? What would she say? No! No chickening out; not this time!

"Do I want to what?" she asked, blushing just slightly at his comment.

Another deep breath was taken, as well as a quick glance at Tucker, who was still smiling and giving him a thumbs-up. "You wanna do something later?"

She shrugged. "Sure, what are we gonna do?"

"I dunno. Maybe we could go to that vegan restaurant you like," he suggested.

"Something tells me Tucker wouldn't like a vegan place. He's a full time meat-eater, remember?" she said.

"Oh, I'm not coming; it'll just be you two," the geek intervened. "I have...other plans."

He winked at Danny, silently wishing him good luck. Anyone would need good luck if they liked the kind of food Sam did. Maybe just a salad would do. It would probably be the best thing on the menu.

She turned back to Danny. If Tucker wasn't coming, then could this be called a date? Was he asking her out? It would be horrible if she were to make the mistake of thinking of it as a date when it wasn't, but the way it sounded, with just the two of them all alone at a _vegan_ restaurant, it looked like a date. She blushed fully at this thought. A date with Amity's greatest ghost hero who happened to be her best friend?

"Uhm, s-sure."

He let his smile appear only slightly, trying to be as cool as he could be. Unfortunately, cool wasn't Danny's specialty and as he was walking out of school grounds, he tripped over a fallen branch that, he was sure, wasn't there yesterday. Must've been a lightning strike.

* * *

Valerie looked back down at her latest technology, a ghost radar. The little screen showed a lone red dot bleeping on and off the screen. Its exact coordinates were right where Danny was standing. "Well this can't be right."

She shook it, thinking maybe something was dislocated inside the device that she couldn't see. But there was no clank of metal to indicate her suspicions to be correct. "What's going on with this thing?" she asked herself. "Stupid malfunctioning piece of-"

"Hey, Valerie," a voice chirped behind her.

She turned around, mindful to hold the device behind her back, and smiled innocently. Before her stood a blonde-haired girl with a flower-shaped barrette in her hair. It was Star, also known as The Gossiper.

"Hey, Star. What's the news this time?"

The blonde seemed to know that everyone thought of her as the gossip girl of the school, but she honestly couldn't care less. She loved her job of spreading rumors and being the first of the grapevine.

"Okay, so guess what I heard in History yesterday!" She continued immediately, without waiting for a reply, "I heard Sam Manson say she was pregnant!"

A serious look appeared on Star's rumor victim. "Sam? As in, Danny Fenton's friend? She's pregnant?"

The blonde ditz nodded and added, "And some people are saying Danny's the dad."

Valerie took a second to look over at Danny and then back at Star. "Are you sure you know what you're talking about? I've never seen them—"

Hold up a second! She _had_ seen them kiss. It was during a ghost fight, but she had definitely seen them kiss. Danny was on the ground, with Sam on top of him. It looked more like an assault, but neither seemed to be opposed to the kiss. And it wasn't weird that they were in the bushes because anyone who even vaguely knew them knew they were very timid in their relationship. So to go so far as to have a baby? Maybe it was unintentional. Though it still came as a shock, it wasn't very hard to believe Danny to be the dad.

"Others are saying Tucker's the dad, but I think it's Danny. What do you think, Val?" Star asked.

"I...I don't know. But it's their business, not mine. You know, you really shouldn't be spreading those kinds of rumors around, Star. Sam's probably got it hard enough with her parents knowing about this. She doesn't need any more stress from school. It's not good for her, let alone the baby," Valerie replied.

"I'm not the one who started this one. Sam told Paulina right in front of the whole class. I was just an observer. But because Paulina heard it, the rest of the class knows. And at this school, gossip travels fast. If she didn't want anyone to know, she shouldn't have said it. In fact, I think she shouldn't have gotten pregnant at all, but it's not up to me," she said.

Valerie sighed. "I'm pretty sure it wasn't on purpose. I mean, no teenager I know wants to raise a kid so young."

Now it was the blonde's turn to sigh. "Yeah, but that comment makes her sound like a slut."

She gasped and waved her finger in Star's face. "Now don't you go around telling people that!"

The Gossiper put her hands up defensively. "I won't, but I'm just saying... Most of the school probably thinks that."

The victim of Star's usual gossip dropped her gaze. She knew it was true. People would believe just about anything nowadays. And false assumptions were often made based on rumors and mishearings. News traveled fast; poor Sam would have her work cut out for her come tomorrow.

She glanced back at Sam, who was just disappearing from view with Danny and Tucker behind her. Her expression couldn't be seen—her back was towards Valerie. But it didn't look like she was sad. Oh, she would be. People always found ways to make life more complicated than necessary. And being pregnant provided all the openings they needed to do just that.

* * *

Tucker had peeled off from their trio earlier, leaving Danny and Sam alone. He'd winked at them before he left, so it was natural that the twosome hadn't spoken all that much. For Danny, it was because he didn't know what to talk about. Sam did, though. She just had no desire to bring it up.

Several silent minutes dragged by before Danny turned in the direction of Sam's usual route to her home. Well, former home, but he didn't know that yet. She noticed the way he was heading and stopped dead in her tracks. "Danny, wait."

He halted and turned around. "Hm?"

She sighed; this wasn't going to be easy. "I'm not allowed back there."

"Back where? I was just walking you home, Sam. And I'm not leaving you alone this time," he told her.

"...Uh, no... That's not what I... What I mean is, I'm not allowed back in my house," she stated quietly.

"Like, you're grounded from your own home?" he inquired.

She sighed again. Was it really that hard to get? "Yeah, kinda. Except, this grounding is kind of...permanent. They kicked me out. I can't go back."

He felt himself grow increasingly angry at her parents, and he could've sworn his face was turning red, but he tried to keep a calm voice. "Why? I mean, why would— How could they do that?"

The goth shook her head. "Doesn't matter. They did. My dad said get out and my mom didn't argue with him. Besides, it's probably for the better." The last thing she needed right now was more sympathy and emotional upset, so she decided to add a sense of humor to the comment. "You know how they always want me to wear those stupid dresses."

"Yeah, but, Sam, this is your family! They can't do this to you!" he said, a little loudly. He didn't mean to raise his voice, but he was so angry with her parents that he couldn't have helped it even if he'd wanted to. And if he had known what was going on after he left, then yes, he would want to!

"Danny, this kind of thing happens more often than you think. I can take care of myself," she combated.

"How, Sam? You're still in high school!" They threw her out on the streets, and she was still just a teenager! She was just fifteen years old!

"I-I don't know, I'll get a job. Rent a motel room or something. I have some money in my backpack; I can use that for starters," she gave.

He threw his hands up in the air.

"Sam, you're _fifteen_! Who's going to hire you?" he yelled.

His frustration got infectious and it spread to her. "I don't know, Danny, okay? I don't know!"

The halfa's rage immediately subsided. His eyes softened as he realized what he was doing to her.

"Sam, I'm sorry. I...I just hate that your parents would..." He let his voice trail off, not wanting to upset her. She had enough to deal with without his crap.

She waited until she calmed down a little before speaking, "Maybe I could work as a janitor for your dad or something. His lab is always dirty, anyway."

Danny put his head in his hands and shook it with a groan. "The lab has too many chemicals. It'll be too dangerous to the baby."

Then what was she going to do? Tucker's family consisted of a stay-at-home mom and businessman dad. Her family had turned their backs on her. Danny's family... Well, they probably had enough going on without her there. Where would she go? She couldn't stay in the streets. Last night at Danny's was different; it wasn't a place to stay, it was just like a weird kind of sleepover. Like a visit—it was only temporary.

"I'll figure something out," she said, trying her best to sound confident.

"What do you have figured out so far?" he questioned.

She thought for a second. It might take some time to figure _anything_ out. And with a baby on the line, she needed a solid plan. There was no 'act now, think later' idea. It was all 'think now and act according to plan without messing up even a little bit and make sure nothing happens that isn't in the plan'. Having a baby didn't go according to her previous plan, did it? Getting raped wasn't on her agenda, was it? Almost getting killed...well, that would be kind of obvious. And then there was the other old saying, 'Leave the past behind you.' How could she leave the past behind when the past was _inside_ her?

And then how could she leave it behind when there was a factor that would never heal? She'd lost her virginity, the one thing she could never get back. Had _that_ gone according to plan? No! Of course it hadn't! She'd wanted to give it to someone special, to the man she would marry. And now it was too late; now it was gone forever. The man she would marry would probably be disgusted with her for not being able to defend herself, if not for the rape itself. There's another aspect of her life flown out the window. So then... What was left for her?

**A/N**

**Sorry about the slow update. Anyway, what will happen to Sam now? She can't work for Danny's parents or Tucker's parents. She doesn't get paid for helping fight ghosts.**

**Oh, and in this story, she's fifteen, not fourteen. That wasn't a mistake, I know the age in the show. **

**The next chapter is a fan favorite, so I'm really excited about it. :D In the original, I had to do a LOT of research on the first part. It was worth it. Make sure you keep an eye out for the next update because EVERYONE had something to say about it. ;) Again, I'm super excited about it! **

**Some of you have been asking about when the new chapters will appear. Well, it'll be a while. There's a lot of room for more chapters (that I should've put in in the original) and I'm equally as excited about those. :)**

**_And a quick note, do you remember the one line of this story I told you to remember? It's the MOST IMPORTANT line in the entire story and it even branches into the sequel. Make sure you keep that in mind when you're reading the next chapter, because you'll start to REALLY doubt Sam will ever accept Danny as more than a friend after what he does. A ton of people were mad at Danny for it._  
**


	11. Chapter 11

~Chapter 11~

"I can't believe you agreed to come," Danny whispered to himself.

The goth overheard him and responded with, "Well, I didn't want to turn you down."

Oh, crap! That made it sound even more like a date! She rushed to put a hand over her mouth, preventing anymore unexpected words from escaping.

He almost laughed, knowing full well what she had done. He did it all the time with her; she just never seemed to catch it when he did.

"Ah, don't worry about it. What are you going to have?"

The thought never hit her that his parents might not know about this, so naturally she wasn't able to bring it up. Instead the menu was on her mind. "The Ethiopian injera sounds good."

What the heck was injera? A spice? An edible substance? The menu didn't have a picture of it to show what it looked like.

"I'll just keep to a salad," he mumbled.

"Oh, wait, it comes with a side item," she continued. Looking over the list of foods again, she finally decided, "Injera and lentil stew." She looked up over her menu as if to ask permission, since he insisted on treating. Treating—just another word for paying.

"Get what you want, Sam," he said. It wasn't all that expensive, which was surprising to him. Besides, he'd been saving allowance money for a long time for the occasion when he would finally muster up the courage to ask her out. Well, now was that time and he had far more than enough money to pay for this. 'This' being what he considered slop. But, hey, Sam liked it, so maybe he should give it a try. 'It' being a salad.

The waitress came by and stopped at their table.

"Are you ready to order?" she asked politely.

Both their heads snapped up as they tried to figure out who would order first. Danny looked at Sam and she looked at Danny. It was one of those awkward 'first impression' moments where he tried to show chivalry to his date and his date felt as though she was being impolite. In the end it was Sam, at Danny's insistence, who ordered first.

"Uh, I'll have the Ethiopian injera and lentil stew."

The waitress jotted it all down and turned to the halfa when she was done.

"I'll just have a Caesar salad," he said.

Wow, that sounded pretty bad, didn't it? Oh well, he was sure a lot of people came here with vegan dates. Him being one of them.

More jotting and she left with, "Your food will be ready soon."

The individualist had hoped he would try the tofu lasagna; it wasn't as bad as it sounded.

"So, uh, what now?" she asked nervously.

Maybe a conversation was the best thing right now.

The halfbreed thought for a second before answering, "You look nice tonight."

This compliment earned him a blush from her. "You too."

Honestly, she hadn't had any time to freshen up before coming here; he'd sort of dragged her as soon as she agreed for a second time to come with him. But a compliment of any sort was welcome at the moment.

A strange thought hit her at that exact minute. What if he tried to kiss her? What if this first date would go from compliments to something more? Immediately, she halted herself. No way, Danny wasn't like that. He would be patient and wait, if nothing else. Besides, he was probably too shy to kiss her. Even if he tried, he would probably chicken out and retreat into himself, covering the action with a lame excuse he figured was valid.

Actually, though, what did she have to lose from kissing him? He was kind to her; he understood her and knew what she needed. Could it be that she was just as timid, if not _more than_, him? Yeah, yeah. That had to be it. She was too shy. It wasn't caution she felt, but shyness.

They sat in total silence, give or take the chattering of others at the restaurant, until the waitress came back with their food. Sam had a plate of seasoned flat bread set in front of her, along with a smaller bowl of what the halfa assumed was the lentil stew. Meanwhile, he had a bowl of salad with Caesar dressing on top. There was no bacon or cheese, unsurprisingly, on his lettuce-filled meal. There were tomatoes and that was it. Those were the only toppings.

It was only when the waitress left that he tried to make conversation. "So, uh, which one is the injera?"

Sam looked at her plate of bread and then back at Danny. "The bread. How's your salad?" She tore off a piece of the unleavened bread and dipped it in the stew.

He already knew what it tasted like and could've already told her the answer, but he decided to be funny and popped a bite in his mouth, a mock look of euphoria on his face. "I'm sorry, I can't tell. Can't describe how awesome it is."

She made no attempt to so much as chuckle. Yeah, it was kinda funny, but it was also pretty corny. And overall weird. She offered him a piece of her Ethiopian injera by holding it out to him.

A little reluctant at the new food, he took it and bit into it. Wasn't half bad, but he'd tasted so much better. It tasted kind of like...well, bread and different spices. He couldn't distinguish which spices they'd used, though. But they'd definitely used pepper and, he assumed, a small amount of cinnamon.

"Not bad," he told her through a mouthful of food.

"You should try it with the stew. It's way better that way," she said, holding out another piece of bread that had been pre-dipped for his convenience.

He took it and expected a better taste than what he got. In fact, it didn't taste anything like it had before. He couldn't even detect the spices this time! He pointed over to the far end of the restaurant, the end behind the goth, and spit it out in his napkin when she turned around to look at whatever it was he'd been pointing at. When her attention was back on him, he smiled to hide the horrendous aftertaste the stew had left. What the heck was in that stuff? He remained speechless on that topic, leaving it to fester in his past.

"You can really taste the onion in it, huh?" she asked, more of a statement than a question.

He nodded, not trusting his tongue to produce the right words.

The rest of the date went fine. A few awkward silences here, a few good conversations there. Everything was going great. In fact, it went so great they ordered dessert—again at Danny's insistence. Sam had apple cobbler, which the hybrid had never tried before. Danny had carrot cake. He would've had the apple cobbler, but the most recent thing he tried that the individualist liked was terrible to him. So he decided not to take his chances with another food item. In the end, after Danny waited for Sam to use the restroom, the two went outside.

There was no car; they had walked to the restaurant. Outside the place was freezing. It had to be at least twenty below zero. The wind didn't help either; cold winds just blew frequently in their faces. Sam briefly wondered which part of her body would be the first to develop frostbite or gangrene. She decided on her fingers or toes first.

"You think it's cold now, just wait," Danny said, smirking.

Before she had time to figure out what he meant, he glanced in every direction, surveying the area thoroughly, making sure no one was around, and allowed a single white ring to form in a flash of light. The glowing ring split in two and moved up and down his body. One of the two rings dissipated above his head, while the other dissipated at the ground below his toes. He was now Danny Phantom.

Sam found herself being scooped up bridal-style and lifted gently into the sky. She was fine with it, so long as he didn't start a speed-demon acceleration. The only annoyance was her hair, which kept whipping around her head. God, it would be a tangled, matted mess in the morning. Thankfully, she wasn't tender-headed.

Sam's hair lashed at his neck, but the halfa didn't care. It kind of tickled, actually.

"You know," he shouted over the wind, "If you need a place to stay, I'm sure my parents wouldn't object."

She stayed quiet for a little bit, but finally replied in a somewhat choked voice, "Thanks." She noticed right in time that underneath them was Fenton Works, Danny's home. But it quickly passed. "Hey, where are we going?"

His emerald eyes met her amethyst ones and he grinned silently, mysteriously.

She sighed, knowing he was taking her somewhere, just not knowing where exactly. She passed the time by looking down at the tiny people underneath them. Yeah, they were up pretty high, weren't they? Many familiar buildings seemed to hurl away from them, until all the familiar establishments were replaced by a completely unfamiliar, barren scene. There were miles of grass. It had no weeds and didn't smell of fertilizer. It didn't look like it had been cut, but it was still neatly kept. There were a few trees here and there, but it was otherwise an empty lot of land. The city already seemed to be far away. Where were they?

"Close your eyes," she heard him command.

She did as she was told. He kept flying with her cradled in his arms for about twenty more seconds before he slowed to a stop.

"You can open them now," he told her.

Again, she obeyed.

Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the sight laid out before her. She slid out of Danny's arms and took a step forward. She was standing in a field of lush white flowers. The plants were surreal in beauty. They weren't too tall or too short. Her boots only sunk into them a little bit, but not nearly enough to make it hard to walk through. The moon was full and caused the dew drops on the flowers to glisten. She bent down to pick one. Each of their five petals was velvety to the touch. The leaves were extremely soft. She held it loosely, afraid it might break if she pinched it too hard. The stem was skinny and delicate; it looked like the flower couldn't support itself.

"Danny, these are..._beautiful_," she breathed.

He knelt down and picked one too. "I call them moon flowers, because they only bloom when the moon is full."

"Where'd you...? How'd you find these?" she inquired.

"Technically, I never found them; I made them. When I was sucking this plant ghost into the Fenton thermos, it spilled seeds everywhere. The seeds landed here and grew into sprouts, and the sprouts started to bloom once a month, on a night when the moon is full. Supposedly, they're really toxic in the ghost zone, but here they're just a pretty sight," he explained.

"They aren't harmful here?" she asked, just to make sure.

"Nope, they're just ordinary plants here," he assured her.

He shuffled his feet until he was standing right behind her, then he knelt down beside her and gazed into her violet eyes. She was drop-dead gorgeous; no wonder that phony from Michigan—went by the name of Gregor—had tried to change himself to someone he thought she might like. Danny knew he'd have done the same thing if he thought for sure there was no way Sam would like him as he was. And yet it was this same beauty and grace that had made her desirable—that had gotten her into the situation she was in now.

Sam wasn't aware how near the spirit had gotten until she felt a hand compassionately push her hair behind her ear. She was confused at first, but when she turned around, she immediately felt nothing less than uncomfortable. Danny's face, which had a glow-in-the-dark look thanks to the white hair and glowing eyes, was a dangerous ten centimeters from hers. His lips were slightly parted, his head slightly tilted. His eyes were already half closed.

One of his arms was placed gently around her shoulder, while the other wrapped itself around her waist. He was now so close that his ghastly white hair teased at her forehead. The whole scenario was putting the goth into a state of panic. She wanted to say something, but no words would come forth. No, no, no! This wasn't happening! She was dreaming, right? In a bed, a soft bed.

His head was moving ever closer to hers; a kiss would occur. He was trying to kiss her. As soon as his nose touched her cheek, something gripped her. Tears started to form at the rims of her eyes and her body instantly reacted. She kicked and squirmed until she was free of his hold. Her legs lifted her up and she pivoted on her heel. Then she ran. She didn't know where she was running, or how long her legs would keep running, all she knew was that she had to get away. Or at least, that was what every nerve in her body was telling her.

Danny stared. He knew right when she started to struggle that he'd come on way too strong. It was too soon for her. Why had he done that? Right after she'd been raped for the second time! And the one short glimpse he'd seen of her eyes—fear. She'd had been scared. By _him_. By the person who was supposed to be her friend. How could he have been so cold and insensitive? She was still so fragile from everything that had happened. And then he'd gone and tried to pull a stupid stunt like that!

"You were supposed to help her heal, you idiot!" he berated himself.

Danny got up from the knocked-over position the girl had put him in when she resisted and flew after Sam. She didn't take very long to find because he could move at supersonic speeds and cover more ground rapidly, whereas she could only run. And running she was! But why would she still be running from him? He figured it was just the adrenaline having yet to subside. Meaning, basically, that her body was acting on its own without her thoughts to control it.

He dove down and flew beside her.

"Sam, c-can you stop for just a second? Let me explain!" he called over the gales.

She faltered and tripped over her own feet at the unexpected sound of his voice. She landed flat on her stomach. It was beginning to hurt when she hit her abdomen. She spat out a piece of grass that had slipped into her mouth when she fell. Her chest heaved up and down with her burst of energy and the fear that still held her in its icy claws.

Danny halted and rushed back to assist her if necessary.

"Sam, you okay?" he asked, holding out his hand for her to take.

She didn't move or respond in any way. The only indication she was alive was her harsh breathing. After a few seconds, her body started hitching with each breath she took. It was then that both of them realized Sam was crying.

The halfa reverted back into his human form and helped her up by placing one hand on her arm and the other on her chest and pushing upward, propping the upper portion of her body upright. The hand on her chest could feel her heart—it was beating furiously and very unsteadily. She was still scared.

"Sam, I'm sorry..." he apologized, almost begging for forgiveness. "I didn't mean for that to happen back there; I knew it was too soon but...I did it anyway. I'm so sorry..." His lifted a hand to wipe away her hot tears, which were steaming in the cold night. "You weren't ready. I know that, it's just... I don't know what came over me back there!"

"Y-You scared me..." she sobbed, new tears coming to replace the ones that he'd wiped away.

He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed. "I didn't mean to frighten you. I'm sorry. I promise, I _swear_ I'll never do anything like that ever again!"

And he meant what he said. After the way she'd reacted this time? There was no way he'd ever be so stupid after that!

When she finally stopped crying, he noticed she was shivering uncontrollably.

"Sam, you wanna go home now?" He spoke to her as though she was a little girl, but she didn't seem to mind.

This only seemed to bring more angst to the situation. She replied with, "No! I can't go home! My parents—"

"No, no. Remember what I said? Before we came here? I said you could stay with me. I'll work something out with my parents, and you can stay. I made you a promise, remember? I said I'd do whatever it took. I'm not going to break that promise. Not now, not ever," he resolved.

She nodded weakly and let him pick her up to carry her to his house. On the way back, she couldn't stop herself from burying her head in his jumpsuit. Her fear had released her..._barely_. She knew it was sure to come back. She knew something would eventually come back to haunt her. But what? The rape? No, she told herself she'd gotten over that. But...was it true? Of course not. She doubted if she would ever recover from that horrible night. What a terrible thing to deal with! And what a terrible thing to be haunted by...

But her one ray of light, even if he wasn't a ray of light tonight, was Danny. And she knew she depended on him. She repeatedly told herself that he was going to be her protector, that he would defend her from the evil one still after her. But a thought destroyed her hope: Danny hadn't been there the last time, hadn't protected her. He hadn't gotten there in time, hadn't answered her the first. But she had no right to be mad at him; it wasn't his fault. He hadn't known about either time until it was too late.

The ghoul phased through the wall of the building labeled 'Fenton Works' and set his precious cargo down on the ground of his room so she could get ready to go to sleep, and so he could get ready to tell his parents about everything.

**A/N**

**Okay, get mad at Danny, not me. I'm not the one who tried to kiss Sam. **

**PLEASE review. X3 I'm looking forward to what everyone has to say this time.**

**And I hope you're proud of me. My A/N's are getting much shorter. :D**


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